The Spider's Web
by PrincessMelissa83
Summary: Kagome's father was murdered before her eyes. Tramatized beyond repair, she spent the next four years in a catatonic state. At 20 she's trying to make up for her lost time...what will she do when the murderer comes back to finish what was started..
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha an Co. They are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

**Prologue**

_November 1984_

_Osaka, Japan_

_Darkness._

_Complete and utter darkness surrounded her._

_The only thing that could break through that darkness was the red of his eyes as he turned and looked directly at her. _

_She was going to die._

The taste of fear emanating from the child only made him hunger for more and there was a glint as the lips curled back into a menacing and evil smile. She was paralyzed with shock, he could sense it, but he wanted her to run. He wanted to chase her as she slipped and tried to escape him…to escape her doom. "Run," he

growled low in his throat.

Dark blue eyes widened again and refocused so that she could see the body that lay limp and covered in a thick red liquid just in front of the red-eyed creature; the creature of her nightmares. "…pa…pa…" It was barely even audible, just a mouthed word that hitched in her throat when those innocent eyes unclouded and saw the ghastly sight before her.

"Run."

The child gasped as her instincts finally caught up with her and she turned on her bare feet, running as fast as her tiny legs could carry her…

…until she slipped in a puddle of her father's blood and fell to the ground, the warm substance soaking into and staining her pink nightgown.

There was a sinister laugh from behind her as she struggled to her feet and tried to run again, this time towards the foyer and the front door in an attempt to reach the kitchen and the sliding glass door that would lead her to freedom from the house…and him.

She would never have made it to there. He was already nearly upon her when there was a flash of blue and a then the squeal of sirens coming from the front of the house. But it was the flash of purple light and the ringing boom that had really saved the child's life. She stopped and crouched, burring her head in her the now wet and stained material of her night gown as she drew her knees up and tried to press her hands to her ears and drown out the wicked screams of the red eyed nightmare as he released some sort of bomb and disappeared.

The child only barely registered that there was a woman standing in the hall wearing a dark blue police uniform and holding a strange looking pistol. Long straight black hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back as she moved passed the body and towards the girl, speaking into a walkie-talkie as she did so.

"He's gone…I don't know…smoke screen…case the outside…"

The girl felt arms go around her. Her skin was like ice, the exposed limbs covered in drying blood, her nightgown stained beyond repair as she willed the darkness to come back and take away the sight before her.

Like an answer to a prayer, the darkness was coming…

"Kagome…" the feminine voice sounded soft and far away, drifting into non existence, "…safe now…going home…safe…"

_Trees surrounded her and sun shown through the spaces between the branches. Everything was calm and peaceful and she was completely alone. She could hear voices coming towards her and she ran until she came to one tree in particular, larger than the rest, in which there was a hollowed area at the base. Into this small cave like area she crawled and there she sat looking out at the rest of the woods. _

_I'm safe…I'm safe…It is safe here…I'll stay here…forever… _

_Tokyo, Japan_

_November 1984_

A man in a white lab coat and thin wire framed glasses sat behind the desk looking at the small family before him. The young woman's face was etched with worry lines, making her look older than her twenty-six years. Too many nights of no sleep and more tears than could be counted had created dark circles under her eyes.

"Mrs. Higarashi, I know that after everything you've already been through the last thing you want or need is to hear that your daughter is in danger, but that is simply the case," the doctor said calmly, folding and unfolding his hands on the desk. "The other practitioners and I have assumed that Kagome had simply gone into shock and that a few days with us would bring her out, however, I have since decided that this runs much deeper than just shock."

The old man, wearing long, red hakama sat forward then, his feet barely touching the floor. "Get to the point. What is wrong with my granddaughter?"

The doctor sighed. He'd known this would not go well. "Ami, send in Dr. Ten'nou, onegai?" he asked pressing the intercom button. "Kagome's condition is one which I am not familiar with. I have taken the liberty of asking a colleague of mine in to explain the situation herself - " he stood as the door opened and the two others turned to see as a short, plump woman in her late twenties came in. She wore a dark gray business suit with a white lab coat opened over it. Her dark hair had been pulled back in a tight bun and she carried a pair of black plastic framed glasses in her hands. "Ah, Dr. Ten'nou, welcome. Onegai, come in." The man turned back to the Higarashi family and said, "Mrs. Higarashi, this is Dr. Kaede Ten'nou. She specializes with people in your daughter's condition and will explain to you what has happened to Kagome and what your options are."

Keiko Higarashi shifted the baby in her arms. "Ten'nou? That was the name of the officer who found Kagome…"

Kaede smiled gently. "Hai, that was my elder sister, Kikyo. She is the one who first told me about little Kagome and suggested Dr. Meioh call me." She leaned against the book shelf that lined the wall and put the glasses in her coat pocket. "Mrs. Higarashi, are you familiar with the practice of installing panic rooms in homes where you feel that you may be attacked?" The younger woman nodded, looking confused. "A panic room is a safe room, impenetrable from the outside, where you can go when you feel threatened by an exterior force. Once locked it can only be opened from the inside and so only the person being protected can decide when it is safe to come out. This is essentially the same thing that Kagome has done to herself. Her young mind simply could not deal with the experience it had been put through and so she withdrew into herself, creating a world in which she could be safe. She has, in other words, gone into the panic room and only she can open the door. There are techniques in psychiatry that can help us convince the patient that they are indeed safe and lure them out…Studies have found that though the patient is completely unresponsive and in a seeming vegetative state, they can and do understand what is going on in the world around them."

Keiko took a deep breath. "Then there is a way to bring Kagome out?"

"There is a chance that we may be able to persuade Kagome that there is no longer a reason to hide. Once we have her back into our world, we can begin to help her deal with what happened." Kaede pulled an envelope from the inside of her lab coat. "Given Kagome's young age, I feel that success is immanent though the process will be time consuming. I've put together a few papers which explain the process and tell a little about my facility…My business card is also in there. Read the packet and think about it before you come to any decision."

_Tokyo, Japan_

_February 1985_

Three months…it was hard to believe that three months ago she had kissed her darling baby girl on the cheek and boarded a train to Tokyo…Hard to believe that in three months her life could change so drastically.

Kagome was home, everyone agreeing that she would be more comfortable in a more familiar environment…but then, if she stopped to think about it, this was not a familiar environment and this was not home. Not the home Kagome would remember…not the house in Osaka…last seen ransacked and caked with blood…

Keiko hid her face in her hands, holding back the sobs that would alert Kagome to her condition…she would not break down at her daughter's bed side. She would show only positive emotions to the distant girl.

A noise from the bed caught her attention and, before Kagome could even take in the breath she would need to scream, Keiko was there, holding her hand, stroking her hair, trying to calm the nightmare that had come over her…

A nightmare…how? The blue gray eyes were wide open, but she still trembled, seeing things that were not there…how much longer could she take this? How much longer could her child live in that foreign place?

When Kagome had calmed again, Keiko rose, going to the bedside table and took out a small white card. Her own hands shook as she picked up the phone receiver and dialed.

"Rainbow Valley Treatment Center, how may I direct your call?"

"I need to speak with Dr. Ten'nou, onegai? This is Keiko Higarashi and it's regarding my daughter, Kagome."

A/N: The italics indicate what the little girl is seeing in her mind. The rest will be explained in the next chapter. Any who have read Iris Johansen's _Final Target_ might be able to figure out what's going on here since this prologue and the spinal chord of this fic was inspired by it.

Glossary

Onegai - Please

Hai - Yes


	2. New Starts

**Chapter One**

_January_

_Tokyo, Japan

* * *

_

_She hummed while she pushed the pebbles around. She'd gone outside for a short time and had found several things to make play toys from. It had been a quick trip. To leave the hollow of the tree was to expose herself and she never knew when the red eyed monster would come back, but inside the tree, she was completely safe..._

_A twig snapped feet from where her door was and she looked up startled. "Get away from me!" She threw a pebble as she screeched._

_"Ouch!" The voice was more like a growl, but it belonged to a child, she could tell, and it sounded male. "That hurt!"_

_"You can't come in here! You can't come in here! The spirit of the tree will protect me," she shouted and backed up farther against the rough bark. "Jii-chan said so, so you can just go away!" She threw another rock out of the hollowed door._

_"Oww! Stop doing that!" The voice had more of a whiney tone this time. "That hurts! I don't even know you!"_

_"Get out of here! This is my forest!" She threw another rock but this time it hit nothing but the leaf covered ground. "Mine!"_

_There was a growl of agitation. "I didn't want to be here anyway! What'd you bring me here for if you're just gonna beat me?"_

_At that the girl paused, dropping her next missile. "Brought you here?"

* * *

_

Kagome woke with a start and sat up in bed, looking at the clock...That was the forth time this week she'd had the same dream and it was beginning to frighten her. _Why do I need sleep anyway? I had three years of it..._ she slid from the covers and stretched, preparing to meet the day, her first day of university. Yawning from another night of restless sleep, she looked out her bedroom window and across her grandfather's shrine. _Look out world...here I come!_

"Mama! Have you seen my blue sweater?" Kagome called down from the stairs of her families shrine. "The fuzzy one?" She frantically searched for the aforementioned sweater, tossing countless others to her bed. She'd pick those up later, after she got back from class. Finding a thin bathrobe, she threw it around herself to cover the exposed upper half of her body while she searched outside of her room.

"I washed it yesterday!" Her mother called back up. "It's in the bathroom! If you don't hurry up you're going to be late!"

Kagome's musical laughter drifted down to her from the upstairs hallway. "No need to worry about that Mama! That would break my promise!"

Higarashi Keiko laughed and shook her head, going back into kitchen to rush the poor fourteen year old boy who had not made such a promise.

"She's way to happy to be up this early," the aforesaid fourteen year old grumbled into his egg.

Keiko only smiled. "Well, if you had spent three years lying in a bed, you'd be ready to get up and stretch your legs too." She turned her back at him and sighed trying not to go back to the depressing memories of having lost her husband to a thief only to find out that she had lost her daughter too, though not to death...for Keiko it had been much worse than if the burglar had killed them both.

Upstairs Kagome grabbed the fuzzy blue sweater off of the hanger that had hung from the shower rod and pulled it over her head, tugging her long black hair from the neck of the shirt and shook it out until it fell back into place. Racing as not to be late, she grabbed her shoes, sliding them on as she ran and her purse from the hall table. "I'm gone Mama! I'll probably stick around a little after my last class just to get acquainted with the campus so don't expect me home before dark…later if I can find someone to hang out with," she told the elder woman and practically bolted out the door for the car that would carry her to the campus of Tokyo University.

Keiko chuckled and pulled the plate out from under her son's nose as further inspiration for him to get going. At twenty her daughter had more energy than she could possibly know what to do with. _But then she does have three years of a missed life to make up for…

* * *

_

She'd made it to class just before her professor showed up and now Kagome sat at a desk in the back of the room fiddling with the small pearl necklace that her father had given her when she four…only weeks before he died…

_Stop it!_ She scolded herself, trying to listen to the professor as he droned on about the course outline for that semester. _Focus, Kagome…life…life is what is important now. There is so much to do…so much to make up for…_

"And now, as a reward for your rapt attention during that little lecture…and because I had a little to much fun this weekend, you're free to go."

Books were grabbed and feet shuffled as students hurriedly got up and went for the door, muttering a thanks to Myouga-sensei for letting them out so soon.

Kagome bent to pick up her backpack just in time as a spiral notebook went flying over her head.

"Ugh! Miroku-kun! I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't keep your hands off of _mine_!" A female voice screeched out and was followed by the stinging sound of skin contacting skin as her hand flashed across his cheek.

"Alas, dear Sango," a boy with short black hair said with a shake of his head, "such a task is impossible for me when confronted with such a lovely one as yours…"

The girl, tall and slim with long black hair currently held in a high ponytail, turned beat red and clenched her fist in an attempt to keep from reddening his other cheek. Kagome giggled and picked the forgotten spiraled notebook from the floor and held it out to her. "I think this belongs to one of you?"

The girl's face reddened even more as she took the notebook. "Hai, arigatou…Gomen ne…I didn't mean to throw it at you…He startled me…" She stuttered the apology and then gave the dark haired boy an icy glare while he simply flashed Kagome a charming smile.

"It's alright. You missed, so I'll forgive you." Kagome giggled again. "I just hope I don't have to duck at the end of class every day to keep from being clobbered."

Miroku wiggled his eyebrows. "I'll try to make sure she's not armed the next time."

"There shouldn't _be_ a next time!"

"I'm Higarashi Kagome, by the way." She bowed to both of them, distracting them from the argument for the moment. "Is this your first semester or have you been here?"

Sango shouldered her backpack and bowed to Kagome slightly. "It's nice to meet you, Kagome. I'm Sango Miyazaki and that's Miroku Takeuchi. Keep an eye on him, though, his hands tend to wander to places they are not wanted." She sent another glare at the boy and then started waking out of the classroom with Kagome and Miroku in pursuit. "I started here last semester. That's when I had the unfortunate luck of meeting Miroku-kun."

"It's also my second semester. However, I think that our meeting was the pleasure of a lifetime, Sango-chan," he said trying to charm her back into a good mood.

Sango rolled her eyes. "I'm stuck with him for another three years…maybe longer than that. We're both med students."

Kagome's dark blue eyes lit up. "Really? So am I…well, sort of. I'm going into child psychology." She smiled sweetly. "Maybe we'll have more classes together."

"Ah…two beautiful women to grace my presence…it's a dream come true…Kagome would you…ump!" He groaned as Sango's elbow connected with his ribcage before he could finish his statement.

"Pay no attention to him, Kagome. When's your next class? There's a break room in this building where we can grab a cup of coffee if you have time…"

* * *

A/N: Tell me if it's any good or if it's really confusing. I promise the next chapters will be more in depth and I'll back post some connecting history…Please review and let me know if it's worth continuing! Thanks!

* * *

Glossary

Sensei - an attachment for those who are teachers of any sort.

Hai - Yes

Arigatou - Thank you

Gomen ne - Sorry


	3. Eerie Feelings

**Chapter Two**

_Rainbow Valley Psychiatric Facility_

_Tokyo, Japan

* * *

_

_Red eyes watched her from the bushes, waiting for her to emerge from the Sacred Tree and Kagome squeezed her eyes shut tight, putting a hand to her ears to block out the sounds of her own screams as tears cascaded down her pudgy cheeks._

_"Why are you screaming?" _

_That halted her and she looked up, gasping for breath from the exertion. Her hands slowly fell and she continued to whimper, pulling herself tighter into a ball. _

_"I said, why are you screaming?"_

_She looked around again, but saw no one that could have possibly asked the question...she wasn't even sure she understood it...how long had it been now since she'd heard another voice? Since she'd spoken herself...since that person had intruded in her woods...since that person had said she'd brought him there...how long ago was that? There was no sense of time in the tree, no concept of night or day..."I heard you the first time." She paused and whimpered a little more. "The monster is outside."_

_"Are you safe?"_

_"As long as I'm in the Goshinboku. I can never leave the Goshinboku." She laid her cheek on her knees and rocked back and forth, crying softly. "The Goshinboku will protect me from the monster...Where are you?"_

_There was no answer and she was about to repeat the question when there was a soft grunt. "It's a cave. My cavern's deep inside...I can't see the light anymore, but I know there's water nearby because I can still hear it..."_

_This time it was her turn to sound concerned. "Are _you_ safe"_

_"No."

* * *

_

"Kagome?" She was shook gently once more and her eyes cracked open to see who had woken her. "Kagome-chan? It's time for your appointment...Dr. Ten'nou is waiting for you in her office." She focused on a girl a few years older than herself with a head full of long reddish brown hair. "D'you have a long night last night?"

Kagome stretched and smiled. "Yeah, I was on instant messenger pretty late discussing the topic of the day with Sango-chan." She'd been at the University a full week now and had quickly become close friends with Sango and Miroku. She was glowing with the after glow of friendship, something she hadn't ever really had in high school...

"And what was that?"

"Why Miroku-kun can't keep his hands off girl's rumps."

The other girl laughed as she went back to her desk. "Simple enough explanation there...he's male." She sighed as the phone started to ring again. "You can go on back."

Kagome waved to the receptionist - she'd been coming to Dr. Ten'nou's office once a week for so long now that she knew all the staff personally. She'd even volunteered at Kaede's facility, Rainbow Valley, the summer before. Like the Western styled home that housed the patients who needed in hospital treatment, this office was decorated in a homey style that made one feel instantly comfortable and she smiled, realizing the decor matched the personality of the doctor.

At Kaede's door, she paused, hearing voices, and hesitated slightly before knocking to announce her arrival. The door opened with a jolt and a boy with long white hair looked over his shoulder as the aging woman spoke. "Don't forget next week, same time. And try to be a bit more enthusiastic about school...talk to someone, make friends."

He muttered a short 'keh' under his breath and turned, practically shoving Kagome into the wall as he pushed passed her and hurried away. Kagome stared after him, face first flushed with anger and then settled into a more curious expression. The boy was handsome, had his features not been twisted into such a sour expression. The white hair was a definite turn on, but the strangest thing about him was that poking from that hair, right atop his head, were two small triangles...dog ears. Now, Kagome was no stranger to the society around her. Nearly 43 percent of the population on campus was youkai, but never had she seen a youkai with ears like that...

All too soon, however, the curiosity was replaced with anger once more and she huffed into Kaede's office, barely managing to shut the door without slamming it. "Ugh, rude much?" She rolled her eyes and looked at Kaede before practically falling into the overstuffed black leather chair next to her desk. "He didn't even say excuse me or apologize for nearly knocking me over. I swear, no one exhibits manners anymore, Kaede-san."

Kaede only chuckled. "You have to excuse, Inuyasha. He's been like that for as long as I've known him," she shifted some papers on her desk and was about to say something more when there was a knock on the door and it opened slightly to reveal a lovely woman dressed in blue. Had it not been for the few lines of gray that streaked her long black mane, people would have sworn she was still young, but time had caught up with her as it did with most people.

Kagome was out of the chair before either woman could speak. The door had been flung open and then young girl attached herself to the new comer. "Kikyo-san!" This was her savior and her hero. The woman who had chased the murderer away and who had been there to greet her when she finally left the Goshinboku. "I tried calling you last week, but the receptionist said you were swamped. Where have you been?"

"Buried under a mountain of paperwork." The elder woman made a face. "Kaede said you were coming by this afternoon so I figured you wouldn't mind if I popped in for a minute." In the thirteen years since Kagome had rejoined their world, she and Kikyo had become acquaintances and what had started off as a childish infatuation on the younger girl's part had quickly bloomed into a mother/daughter relationship on both parts. To Kagome, Kikyo was an embodiment of all she wanted to be. The policewoman turned social worker was smart, pretty, kind, and strong. She was her hero, her friend, her role model. "Kaede says you started University this week. How is it?"

Backing off and going to sit back on the chair, Kagome grinned. "Great. I've already made two new friends. Sango and Miroku are both studying to become doctors. Sango wants to be a pediatrician and Miroku is going to go into radiology...that is if he lives through med school which won't happen if he doesn't learn to keep his hands a safe distance from Sango's bottom."

"Sounds interesting," Kikyo said, shaking her head with a slight laugh. "Well, I only had a minute. I'll call you next week and we can meet for lunch. Ciao, Kaede, Kagome-chan."

"Good-bye, Nee-chan."

Kaede waited until the door was closed and then turned her attention back to the young woman in her office. Happy as she seemed, she'd known the girl long enough to be able to read what was going on behind those steel-blue eyes and something was worrying the child. "Are you having problems with this new life?"

Kagome sighed, a long, tired sigh. "Not so much the living part...it's the sleeping part that's giving me trouble." She rested her head against the thick cushion of the chair. "I've been having these dreams lately. Dreams about the Goshinboku...it's like...like something is preparing me for the safety net...I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that somehow, something is going to go wrong."

"What is going to happen?"

Kagome fidgeted in her seat. "I wish I knew..."

* * *

The hotel room was dark as a shadowed figure huddled over the computer screen, skimming through digital pictures and then settled on one in particular. It was a close up of a young girl with dark hair and a black sweater with a blue jacket over it. She was smiling at someone across from her, but the main focus of the picture was the large pearl pendant hanging from a gold chain. The figure stared at the picture for a minute before moving on to the next picture, a long shot view of the same dark haired girl with a young man and another girl at a cafe. The man leaned over and wrote something on a pad of paper before finally moving on to the next picture. It went on like that for a while, the same girl in different places, doing various activities. Every once in a while he would lean over and write something on a pad. Finally he switched the machine off and lay back on the bed, the only thing visible in the room now was his red, glowing eyes.

* * *

Goshinboku - Sacred Tree...it seemed only right to use the tree in this way.

Youkai - daemon


	4. Nightmares

A/N: Chapter three and still no reviews. Wow, do I feel unloved. Is it that bad? Is it confusing? Am I totally missing something? Can I do something to improve it or is it a lost cause? Tell me something! Even if it's a bad review! Even if you are telling me that you can't stand to read it, at least tell me something. Give me some clue as to why it's so bad and what, if anything, can be done to fix it.

Please?

I'm on my knees begging here.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

_Rainbow Valley Psychiatric Facility_

_Tokyo, Japan_

He looked up at his reflection in the rearview mirror and heaved a huge sigh as he slammed the door of his car then leaned his forehead against the rubber of the steering wheel. How was visiting that old witch supposed to help him? This was pointless.

_"Life is meant to be lived, Inuyasha, not spent hidden away. It's been nearly ten years and you still haven't come back to us. Why is that?"_

He scowled and raised forcefully from the steering wheel, jabbing the key in the ignition and giving it a hard turn, nearly ruining his motor. Hadn't come back to them...he was awake, wasn't he? He had graduated high school, right? He'd gotten into college. He was living a normal life. That should be enough for her...for all of them. But it wasn't.

_"I'm awake, aren't I?"_

_"You have no longer shut yourself off into the recesses of your own mind, but you continue to shut the world out despite the fact that you are awake and seemingly functional. Tell me, have you made any friends at the university?"_

Friends? What the hell did he need friends for? That was just an accident waiting to happen. He was a freak of nature and he knew it. Not only was he among the small minority of the hanyou population - as if that wasn't bad enough - but he'd spent three years of his life in a coma. No...not a coma. If it had been a real coma, it might have been peaceful. Kaede called it a catatonic coma. Inuyasha called it hell.

_"I don't need friends."_

_"Everyone needs friends. Inuyasha, you have to come back into the world of the some time. You'd might as well make it now, while you have the chance at a fresh start before the world leaves you behind._

What did it matter? He'd already been left behind. Didn't she get that? He'd told her before. Every week, actually. His parents had left him behind that night thirteen years ago when his parents and he had had the car wreck. They'd left him alone in that suffocated car. His half brother had abandoned him a long time ago, even after he had to keep the unwanted hanyou in his care. He had been embarrassed to have such a disgrace as a hanyou to mar us up-till-then flawless family tree.

_"Try and attend class regularly. Make friends. Regain some semblance of a normal life. You might find you actually like it."_

He growled and threw the car in reverse, speeding back towards the co-ed dormitory on campus, where he could be alone...or at least he hoped he'd find the cocky and arrogant wolf youkai he shared the dorm with gone, hounding some female or doing whatever it was he did in his spare time.

Unfortunately the youkai was sitting at the computer desk, scrolling through pages on the Sengoku Jidai. Must've been a history assignment. Damn. Why'd he have to skip that class today? He might have hated school, but he managed to keep his grades up. Ridiculed for being a half breed, people had called him many things but weak and stupid would not be one of them, of that he was determined. Besides, it was what his parents wanted. He owed them that much, even if he was a disappointment with everything else.

"Hey mutt-face." Koga's usual harassing greeting flew to his ears and his scowl deepened. The damn wolf was always so cheerful when he was insulting Inuyasha and it made the white haired hanyou despise him even more. "Try and keep it down. I got a history report to do. There's this cute girl in my class and I think a few good grades will really impress her. She seems to like that kind of thing."

Kami, he hated to have this wolf for anything but he needed that assignment. "What's the report about? When's it due?"

"You'd know if you'd been there." With that Koga replace the head phones he'd draped around his neck and went back to reading the computer screen.

* * *

_Higarashi Shrine_

_Tokyo, Japan_

Kagome slid the door open and walked in, enthusiastically greeting her family by kissing her grandfather on the forehead and her mother on the cheek. "Don't make too much for dinner. I won't be here. My Trigonometry teacher is way hard and is always planning a major exam. Sango and Miroku and I are crashing with pizza and math problems in Sango's dorm all night. I may stay with Sango if it gets too late. Her roommate went home yesterday, sick, so there's a free bed."

Her grandfather made a face. "Nani? I thought that the boys weren't allowed in the girl's buildings."

Kagome giggled. "You're so old fashioned, jii-chan. The boys can't go into the girls room at the _all girl apartments_, but Sango is staying in the _co-ed dorm_. She thought it'd be an interesting experience or something."

Her mother laughed when the old man walked off muttering something about society going down the drain. "So how'd your appointment with Kaede-sama go today?" The elder woman fixed a glass of milk and handed it to the girl who was already diving into the fresh baked cookies.

"Same as usual, I guess. We really just talked about school. She's really glad I'm going into child psychology. Even offered me an internship at the Rainbow Valley Retreat. She said I was really good with the kids last summer. Of course, I was. I used to be one of them."

Keiko smiled and took a cookie herself. "That's great honey. How many people get offered jobs before they ever really get started in school."

"Not many," Kagome agreed around a mouthful before taking a drink of milk. She swallowed and broke off another bite. "Oh, and Kikyo-san came by while I was there. If she calls, give her my new cell number will you, please? She said she'd take me out to lunch next week." She finished the cookie and the milk before starting to the stairs and her room to pack an overnight bag. "Oh! Mama, I almost forgot, there's an extracurricular archery class offered at the school. I was thinking about signing up. What do you think?"

"I think you would enjoy it, if you can manage to balance it with the rest of your schedule," she said gently.

* * *

_Co-ed Dormitory_

_Tokyo University_

"Ugh!" Sango's exasperated groan woke her with a start and she sat up straight. She had been laying on her stomach on the opposite bed from where Miroku and Sango sat. She was supposed to be reading over the instructions to a particularly difficult equation, but her eyes had drifted closed and the mattress had felt so good...

The sound of a loud thud woke her fully and she saw Miroku lying on the floor with a slightly shocked look.

"I swear if you can't learn to keep your hands to yourself, I'll -" She broke off, still fuming. "Ugh!" She threw her hands in the air and tried to count to ten...it wasn't working.

Someone next door banged on the adjacent wall and yelled for them to keep it down. All three had the decency to blush as they called out apologies.

Kagome yawned and stretched out closing her Trig book. "I say we call it a night. We're never going to make it through our morning classes if we don't get some sleep soon."

Miroku gave them a mischievous grin and stretched out on the floor. "I'm quite comfortable here. Perhaps I should stay and keep you ladies safe while you sleep."

"No!" Kagome and Sango exclaimed in unison and received another knock on the wall to which they exchanged worried glances. A female wolf youkai and a human girl shared that room. Ayame seemed nice enough, but they really didn't want to put her in a bad mood.

Miroku was drug from the floor and roughly pushed out of the door, enjoying every second of it, and the girls giggled as they shut and locked the door.

"You like him, don't you?" Kagome asked as they readied for bed.

"What's not to like?" Sango pulled her night shirt on and took the holder out of her hair. "Besides his infatuation with girl's bums?"

Kagome grinned and pulled the sheets of her bed down. "The only bum he seems to be obsessed with that I can see is yours."

"Ugh! Go to sleep, Kagome-chan."

* * *

_Dark blue eyes widened again and refocused so that she could see the body that lay limp and covered in a thick red liquid just in front of the red-eyed creature. The creature of her nightmares. "…pa…pa…" It was barely even audible, just a mouthed word that hitched in her throat when those innocent eyes unclouded and saw the ghastly sight before her. _

_Blood...there was so much blood...it covered her...it covered him...everything was coated in it. Everything was red...just like those eyes..._

Her own screams woke her up along with the rest of the floor. There was a tortured moan from next door and Sango glanced at the connecting wall as she sat up in bed, throwing the covers back to check on her friend.

Kagome sat up, breathing hard and tried to stop the tears that had started to fall. She gasped back another sob and Sango sat on the bed next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"We're trying to sleep in here!" Was the complaint from next door. It was the human, not the youkai.

Sango frowned, wait till she saw that girl... "Shh...don't worry about her, Kagome. It was time to get up anyway..." She rubbed her friend's shoulder. "It was just a bad dream."

"No...no it wasn't just a dream." But before she could explain further, the dorm phone rang. Sango leaned across the distance to the computer desk and snatched the cordless phone. Kagome could hear the concerned voice over where she sat.

"What was that? What's going on up there? Is someone hurt?" Miroku questioned. "Sounds like someone was being murdered...is that Kagome crying? What's wrong?"

Sango winced and glanced at the other girl. "It was Kagome. She had a bad dream is all. It really scared her."

"I could come up and comfort her..."

"Can't you be serious for one minute? Now is hardly the time."

Kagome was managing to get a hold of herself just fine now. "It wasn't just a dream. It was more like a memory really."

Sango just looked at her curiously while Miroku was on the other line getting agitated. "What'd she say? Sango...Sango? Hello? Anyone there?"

"What was it about Kagome? Can you tell us? Why'd you scream like that?"

* * *

When the scream resounded through the halls on both the first and second floor, Inuyasha sat up, ears twitching, nearly banging his head on the ceiling as he was in the top bunk. It rang in his sensitive ears and brought back painful memories of the screams that had haunted the cottage of his past, screams filled with terror and the sensation of death as the people emitting them ran within the dark corners of their minds trying to escape some unknown and unseen predator. Those days were over, he told himself. He was in the land of the living now , forced from his short lived peace and into this harsh reality of everyone who'd ever wanted him or loved him having been taken from him before his very eyes. 

He'd been whimpering he realized too late and swore under his breath when Koga's sleep filled command reached him from the bottom bunk. "Go back to sleep, mutt-face. 's just some girl upstairs. Prob'ly dreamed the mall burned down or somethin'."

Inuyasha laid back, hands laced behind his head. What the hell was going on upstairs? Ugh! Why'd he have to apply for the co-ed dorm? These girls were going to be the death of him. As if the wolf staying on the phone till all hours of the night with his girlfriend, who was just upstairs, wasn't bad enough now he had screaming chicks. Great. Just great.

The sun was already starting to stream in through the curtains and blinds, alerting them that it was indeed morning and a glance at the clock told him that if he was going to attend his morning class, he had better get moving soon before the showers were all occupied.

Well, he had nothing better to do. He'd might as well go to the Chem. Lab...they might let him make something explode...That'd be cool.

As he descended the ladder and dug through the closet for his towel, robe and other bathing supplies, he heard the wolf shifting in his bed. "Pull the shade down on your way out, will ya? 's too bright in here..."

Inuyasha yanked the shade down and walked out, purposefully slamming the door just to irritate the youkai.

* * *

Miroku had joined the girls up stairs in Sango's room to talk to Kagome when she decided to tell them what she'd neglected sharing before. She only wanted to say it once and she wasn't even sure she'd be able to get through it then. But she had, barely. Her sentences were broken and she cried violently for several minutes after she'd confessed to witnessing her father having been murdered for no apparent reason, but she had continued after Sango's embraces ad soothing words had helped to calm her. 

"I was out of it for several years...three, actually. I was awake, but I wasn't aware," she explained. "Mama said my eyes were open most of the time and I would trash about, screaming and crying, but that I also slept. That isn't like a typical coma and that's what had had them so worried. I hadn't really been injured that night besides some glass in my foot and there was no evidence of physical trauma which is usually the leader into a comatose state. She said it was just like I lost my soul. My body was there, but my spirit was gone. It's a condition that Kaede and the doctors at Rainbow Valley Psychiatric Facility called a catatonic coma. My physiologist, Dr. Kaede Ten'nou owns the clinic here in Tokyo as well as a large estate in the country called Rainbow Valley Retreat where most of her 'in-house' patients stay during their care. I've been seeing her once a week since I woke up. It was her older sister, Kikyo, who saved me that night."

Miroku sat across from her, legs crossed Indian style and wearing only Scooby Doo boxers and a blue robe. His short hair, usually worn in a pony tail, hung loose round his face in a messy mop as he leaned forward, intrigued. "Catatonic coma? As in parapsychology? Most experts don't even classify it as a valid condition. Most don't even believe it exists."

Kagome harrumphed under her breath. "Trust me, it does."

"I've read a little about it," Sango told them quietly. She sat next to Kagome, her arm still wrapped around her friend. "There isn't much documentation on the subject. Your doctor seems to be the most published at the moment." She tapped her chin, thoughtfully. "From what I've read, no one seems to really know what happens during the 'darkened' period."

Kagome made another face. "I'll write a book one day. Hell, maybe I'll be a millionaire afterwards."

"But, will you have proof?" Miroku leaned closer towards her and she instinctively pulled the sheet closer to her chin feeling exposed in the thin tank top that she wore. The boy _was_ a pervert after all.

"I'll donate my brain to science and maybe they'll be able to pull my memories out or something."

"I just think it's amazing you remember being under when most patients who come out of a coma report that their last memory is of the thing they experienced just before the coma set in," Sango mused with that 'I want to study you' look that Miroku had been giving her earlier.

"Well, now I _know_ I'm a freak." Kagome rolled her eyes. "A catatonic coma is way different from the normal kind. We've been over that." She sighed and let the blanket fall, getting over her wariness of Miroku. "I know what I experienced and I know _now_ how much time elapsed between my escape and my return, but in that place it was just one or two really long days. I was four when I ran. Though my body was that of an seven year old when I woke up, I was still only four in my mind."

"We are really going to have to discuss this more in depth -"

"If you want to, Kagome," Sango interrupted. "If you don't want to talk about it we will understand and we won't ask anything else. Will we, Miroku-kun?" The boy looked at her for a minute and then nodded. His friendship with Kagome and Sango was more important than his curiosity.

Kagome shrugged. "I talk about it every week with Kaede-san. There's no reason why I shouldn't tell you guys. I don't tell people usually because they'll think I'm weird and start backing away from me, not wanting to get infected with my oddness." She smiled finally. "You guys wouldn't do that?"

"Of course not!"

"You're no stranger than Miroku..."

"Hey!"

"Well, it's true..."

Kagome cleared her throat to end the argument she knew could go on for at least an hour if allowed. "Besides, there's not much to tell. I don't know how I kept from getting bored to tears except that I was just to afraid to notice..." She glanced at the blue flower shaped clock on Sango's wall. "But, right now we should start getting ready. I have Chem. Lab in like half an hour and I look like crap."

* * *

_Chemistry Lab, Room 204_

_Tokyo University_

"Glad you could finally join us, Mr. Takahashi," Professor Aino greeted the white haired hanyou as he entered. Kagome only briefly glanced up from her doodles to regard him, not really taking much notice of him. "Now, if you would just take a seat, I'll continue with class." Once the students seemed to give her their full attention once again she cleared her throat. "As I was saying, we spent our first class meeting reviewing the assignment outline and what I expect of you this semester. Today you'll be given our lab partners. I want no arguments, no complaints, and no asking for trade offs. In the medical field, as well as any other field, you may be going into, you will have to deal with many kinds of people..."

She'd lost Kagome's attention by that time. Her sleep the night before had been fitful even before she'd woken up screaming and little bit little her muddled brain was starting to drift off...

"Ahem...Miss Higarashi, would you like to go meet your lab partner or just continue to sit there, staring out the window all morning?" Professor Aino's voice brought her back and she blushed brightly.

"Honto ni sumimasen," she stuttered, gathering her things. "Umm..."

"Mr. Takahashi, will be your partner. Raise your hand please, Mr. Takahashi."

He just barely did so and she practically ran to the station where he sat, falling into the stool next to him. "Konnichiwa, I'm Kagome Higarashi,' she said quietly but with a bright smile...until she got a look at his face and ears. Then her eyes widened and she gave him a nasty, scolding look. "You!" she hissed. "You're the boy from Kaede-san's office! You could've at least apologized, you know."

"For what?" He obviously hadn't recognized her. "What'd I do?"

"You shoved me into the wall, practically ran me over even. Most civilized people would have waited for me to step aside or even held the door open for me."

"I was in a bit of a hurry."

She gave him an indignant look and turned her nose up at him. "That's hardly an excuse."

"Are you gonna dwell on this very long?"

"I'll make lab a nightmare for you until I get an apology."

"Fine. Whatever. I apologize."

She scrunched up her nose in a way he couldn't help but find himself thinking was cute. "That wasn't very sincere."

He shrugged. "You requested an apology. You didn't mention sincerity. You should really work on being specific...not that I'd ever really mean it."

"Well, _that's _nice to know. You know I get along with almost everyone. I can't think of one person that I haven't liked or at least respected...till now. I really don't think I like you."

"The feeling's mutual." He found he was enjoying the annoyance he was causing her.

She rolled her eyes and picked up the beaker the professor was indicating. This was going to be a long semester.

* * *

Hanyou - half youkai/half human

Youkai - daemon

Nani - what?

Jii-chan - grandfather


	5. Premonitions Revealed

**Chapter 4**

_Co-ed Dormitory_

_Tokyo Japan_

_People were everywhere...she watched them pass but could feel the eyes that bore into her...someone was watching her._

_He was watching her._

_Stop thinking like that. He was gone. _

_She took a few more steps and stubbed her toe on something, looking down she saw a large rock that was half buried in the ground with grass grown up around it. Keeping her head down she continued towards her destination to make sure she didn't trip on anything else. When her hand reached out to grab something, she saw blue...blue and black...some sort of handle._

_The explosion caught her completely off guard. But she didn't really have time to think about it because her body was wracked with convulsions and any comprehensible thought was gone...

* * *

_

"Kagome."

She slowly became aware of someone shaking her and she barely cracked her eyes open to see the fuzzy image of her friend.

"Kagome?"

She mumbled something incoherent and tried to draw the sheets higher up, but the shaking continued. "Sleep..."

"Yeah, I know that'd be nice and all, but we're going to the soccer game, remember?" At the hint of laughter in Sango's voice, Kagome slit her eyes open again. "You've gone on study overdrive, haven't you? You've killed you're brain cells with information overload." The look she received was icy, but she only laughed. "I'll refresh your memory. You, me, Miroku-kun? Breakfast at WacDonald's? Soccer? Cute guys in shorts? Any of this ringing a bell?"

Kagome glare only deepened. "If I didn't like your company so much..." She yawned and then stretched, deciding she wouldn't get any peace until she had started to get up and prepare to meet Miroku for breakfast. It'd been nearly a month and a half since she'd met Miroku and Sango. Shortly after Sango's roommate had taken sick, the girl had dropped out of the university, leaving Sango with a free bed in her dorm room. Kagome had gotten the okay from her mother and immediately had applied for the free space. She'd been lucky and gotten it.

"Cute guys? Soccer?" Kagome sat up and sighed, stretching. "Now if only every day held such promises." She smiled, coming back to herself. "Okay, I'm up now. You can go take a shower or whatever." She glanced over at the older girl and her smile widened seeing that Sango had already gotten herself ready. "Okay, I'll go take a shower. I'll be out in a second. I promise!" She threw the covers back and jumped out of bed, grabbing her shampoo and other things.

Sango grinned as she grabbed the cordless and flopped on her own bed to call Miroku and let him know they were almost ready. Now, _that_ was the Kagome they were used to. She had been worried when she first went to wake her friend. The younger girl had started whimpering in her sleep and she was afraid that one of those death dealing, blood curdling screams was about to be released. It seemed Kagome's nightmares had continued despite having confessed herself to her and Miroku and the fact that they were trying to help her. Now, though, it seemed Kagome had become more reluctant to tell them what was in her dreams that scared her so...she only said it wasn't her father's murderer.

* * *

Kagome stood in the shower and let the hot water run over her now shivering body. It was getting harder and harder to keep her usual optimistic demeanor in front of Sango...especially right after waking up from one of those dreams. She shivered again. These new dreams were really starting to wear on her. Only twice before had she had such nightmares. Once right after she'd come back to the real world when she'd dreamed that she was being engulfed by flames but that everything around her had belonged to someone else. She'd screamed out about a fire and had the entire retreat facility in a fit till they realized there was no fire. Then, three days later, in the middle of the night, a faulty wire had sparked and set the carpet of another girl's room in flames. Kagome's dreams had been plaguing her those three days as well and by the time she realized that it wasn't just a dream, they had almost been too late. As it stood the other girl had suffered first and second degree burns and smoke inhalation. But she was still alive. That was all that really mattered. And the house hadn't been damaged too much. For this they had all been thankful.

She shampooed her hair, trying to push those thoughts out of her head, but they kept coming back. Again, her ninth grade year, she had been plagued by dreams and the sensation of being hit by a moving object - a fast moving, very hard on impact, moving object. She had also realized that she wasn't herself in the dream, but someone else. She had never expected to see one of her classmates trying to cross the street on the way to class one day. But he did wander so far from his normal route. She had not expected the careless driver to come speeding around the corner, hurtling straight towards the unsuspecting walker. But it did. And she would have never thought herself as having been able to fight the fear that threatened to consume her. But, somehow, she did. She raced forward, faster than she would have ever imagined herself to be able to go, and grabbed the boy by the shirt, just enough to be able to give him a hard tug backwards, sending them both tumbling to the pavement as the driver honked his horn and swerved, barely avoiding them. He had been so thankful he had showered her with gifts for a year.

She slowly brushed her fingers through her hair as she rinsed out the conditioner, lost in her thoughts. That had been the last dream she'd had of that sort. After that her sleep had been gentle and peaceful, filled with happiness and love. Until just recently...for the past month she had gone back to the restless and troubled sleep of her childhood, but up until the last week it had simply been reliving her time in the Sacred Forest, living in the Goshinboku. Then last week things had taken a deadly turn when she had started dreaming about an explosion in a public area. She was walking towards something...but all she could see was the grass, as if she were walking with her head down. Then her hand reached out and touched some sort of handle...then...

Shivering, she turned the water off and grabbed her towel robe. _Stop it Kagome. Stop doing this. It was just a dream. People have bad dreams all the time. It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean anything!_

Kagome wrapped the robe around herself and gathered her stuff, heading back to Sango's room, kicking out a waiting (and whistling) Miroku so that she could get dressed. _I refuse to think about it. I absolutely refuse.

* * *

_

_Apartment Building_

_Tokyo, Japan_

Kikyo had not given up her search for the red eyed youkai that had ripped apart the life of a certain young girl so many years ago. She had just finished emailing the young girl with the details of her latest trip with Mr. Not Right But To Rich To Ignore and was searching the internet for any sort of clues. There was a file open on the desk in front of her with the print outs of numerous police reports and website information, as well as a notebook that had her own dainty scribbles in it, short handed into notes that only she or someone close to her could translate.

_Three break-ins spanning a sixteen year period. Each with no physical evidence left to point towards a suspected offender. Each to had similar MOs. Security tape of scene is fuzzy, with nothing useful for a suspect sketch. One feature in common with each burglar. Red, glowing eyes of a daemon._

_1. Shikon Pearl (aka Shikon no Tama) - circa 985 a.d.; heirloom necklace of the Higarashi family of Tokyo, Japan; current insurance estimation $213,937.74; last known owner, Haruki Higarashi of Osaka; current location kept private from public. (Higarashi Shrine, Tokyo Japan, Kagome Higarashi); legend, to have the ability to grant the holder their heart's desires. (not true); attempted theft, November 1984._

_2. Twin Katanas, Tetsuseiga and Tenseiga - cica 842 a.d.; heirloom katanas of the Takahashi family of Kyoto, Japan; current insurance estimation $500,000.00 per katana; last known owner, Sesshomaru Takahashi; current location kept private from public. (assumed in Takahashi's possession); legend, Tetsuseiga to have powers of destruction while Tenseiga to have powers of life and healing. (highly doubtful)_

_3. Kazaana Sutra - circa 1124 a.d.; heirloomed ofuda/sutra of the Takaeuchi family of Tokyo, Japan; current insurance estimation $200,561.43; Currently owned by Mamoru Takaeuchi; current location, unknown; legend to have been the sutra used to curse the Takaeuchi family with a wind tunnel in their hand until the curse was broken. The curse survivor was left with a sutra wrapped around his hand - the same sutra that had caused the wind tunnel. (air voids in peoples hands? Please!); stolen from Tokyo museum April 1998._

_4. Haraikotsu (Youkai Bone Boomerang) - circa 1001 a.d.; heirloomed weapon of the Miyazaki family, once professional taijiya's of Sengoku Jidai, protectors of the Shikon no Tama and the Miko no Shikon (interesting...a connection); current insurance estimation $873,948.09; last Known owner, Kohaku Miyazaki, the elder; current location unknown; legend to be made completely of youkai bone and be gifted with aura breaking powers. (finally, something believable); stolen from Osaka Museum August 1990._

_Myth: Each heirloom possesses a power of its own and a value to bring the owner a tremendous wealth. On a more mystical side, it is believed that someone with the ability to bring the four objects together could obtain god-like status and become immortal and indestructible, capable of ruling continents with ease._

She sighed and tapped the eraser end of her pencil against the notebook, trying to think. There was only one item that hadn't been part of an theft or attempted theft. Sitting back she pinched the bridge of her nose to relieve the pressure of her eyes. When the doorbell rang, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Coming!" Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she stood up and stretched, headed for the door. "Who is it?"

"Flowers for Mrs. Ten'nou."

_Flowers?_ She unlatched the lock and opened it to find a man with long, wavy black hair holding a bouquet of red roses. Smiling she opened it further. "Domo arigatou gozaimazu. Wait here and I'll get your tip." She turned her back, leaving the door slightly ajar to find her purse.

The door clicked closed softly, but with enough noise that she was able to hear it and she turned around to see why. What she saw there made her violet eyes widen in surprise. "Nani? Who are you?"

The man grinned and lifted his eyes which had suddenly gone blood red to match the sinister laugh he emitted. "Your nightmare."

"Iie!" She put up her hands, now crackling with bluish purple energy. "Ikinasai! Ikinasai!"

Her screams and her purification energy did nothing to stop him as he advanced towards her, feeding off the fear that radiated from her being. "K..K..Ki...sa...ma..."

* * *

_Co-ed Dormitory_

_Tokyo University_

Kagome mentally grimaced when she collided with a very unwelcome chest. She and Sango had been goofing around in the downstairs hallway while Miroku grabbed his wallet. Sango had bumped her playfully, neither noticing that a certain silver haired student had come up on them. When Kagome had stumbled she had tried to regain her balance, she had been blocked by a very hand chest covered in gray material.

"Na...nani?" she stuttered trying to collect herself, flushing involuntarily. "Umm...sorry about that...didn't see you there..."

"Feh, whatever." He shrugged.

"Well, arigatou, for catching me anyway, Inuyasha." The past month in Chem. Lab had been so awkward for her. Her mind was telling her how rude and mean he was and how uncivilized, but she couldn't help but think that he was cute. What with those adorable little ears, that long silver hair, and those haunting gold eyes...and there was something in those eyes that called to her, something hidden that she didn't quite understand. Then there was the way that he spoke...not the haughty, tough guy attitude, but the way he spoke when he really got into his work (he was really very good at science) and he had to explain the purpose behind an experiment or the reason certain chemicals reacted the way they did when she didn't fully understand.

"Kagome?"

Miroku's voice pulled her out of her stupor and she realized that she and Inuyasha had been staring at each other all during her contemplations.

"I didn't have much choice, you kinda fell on me." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and started to storm back off down the hallway.

"Well, thanks anyway, Inuyasha!" She called after him, determined to be kind even though she had already expressed her dislike of him and his of her.

Sango grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. "Inuyasha?" She whispered. "As in Chem. Lab hottie Inuyasha?"

Kagome blushed again. "Yeah...that's him..."

"You never said he was _that_ cute." She giggled even louder when Miroku seemed to take on a rejected look now that they were talking about another boy. "Your description didn't do him justice."

Kagome giggled too. "Yeah...I guess not. But his looks are all he's got going for him. I mean, he's rude and arrogant and mean and uncivilized and snobbish and ungrateful..." She trailed off with a sigh before a mischievous grin graced her features. "Nothing like our Miroku."

* * *

Inuyasha had seen the girl, his lab partner, teeter on the verge of falling and had not been able to stop himself from reaching out and catching her. Angry at himself for letting himself be concerned for another person (his brother would be disappointed), he had snapped at her until he had caught her gaze straight on and had been lost in those deep blue eyes. She seemed so familiar. Something in her voice pulled at a memory long buried and her vanilla scent had haunted him since that first day in lab. What was he supposed to know about her? It had to be something for it to bother him so.

The dorm room was occupied, much to his dismay, when he got there. Ayami and Koga sat on the floor, her in his lap, going at it. The wolf youkai had snarled and growled angrily at the disturbance and the hanyou had closed the door with a snarl of his own before finally turning in the direction he had come from. _Might as well go to the soccer game...

* * *

_

_Soccer Field_

_Tokyo University_

Spreading a blanket on the ground and looking around at the small crowed, Kagome smiled happily. They had gotten there early to make sure that they got a spot close enough to see the game where they sat.

"Hey, Kagome-chan?" Sango called, unpacking their breakfast from the WacDonald's bags.

"Hai?"

"Did you or Miroku get the cooler?"

Kagome winced. It was a tournament game and would last all day long, so they had packed drinks and a few other snacks for later that day. "I'll get it after the first game's over. I don't think we'll need it before then, will we?"

Sango shook her head and settled down, opening her breakfast. "I guess not." Kagome saw her tense and go red from the corner of her eye before she heard the resounding slap that she knew would be following. "Damnit Miroku! Just once can't you try and show a little restraint."

Miroku smiled, obviously pleased with himself despite the handprint now splayed across his cheek. "My dear Sango, the day would not be complete without the feel of your tender caress on my cheek...or mine on yours."

"Kami, you're such a lecher," Kagome said, shaking her head.

"And you love me anyway."

She giggled while Sango shook her head and rolled her eyes. She looked up and saw a flash of gray material and silver hair just across the distance and felt her breath catch and a blush paint her cheeks. Yes, she had told him during their first meeting that she didn't like him, but it was not in her to actually dislike someone for something so simple. Yes, she knew hate. She felt it deeply - so deeply that she thought it might consume her, but she thought it might consume her but she never let it. Kaede had talked her through that years ago with Kikyo's help. When she had first come back to herself and had worked through the pain and grief, the anger had come next and had been much harder to reign in and so, though she had said she didn't like Inuyasha, her conscious would not allow her to dismiss him or that masked pain in his golden eyes, so easily.

"Inuyasha!" She called suddenly, surprising herself as much as anyone. "Why don't you join us?"

He glared in her direction. "No thanks."

She sighed and shrugged. Well, she had tried.

* * *

Kagome cheered, clapping her hands as the first game ended. "Whoo!" Sango and Miroku clapped too, though the girls were more into cheering for how the guys looked in their uniforms. As the players left the field, Kagome stood and stretched. "I'm gonna go get the cooler out of the car." She picked up her purse. "I'll be right back."

Humming to herself, she walked through the crowd towards the parking lot where her car was parked. She was still several feet away when she clicked the unlock button on her key chain.

* * *

Inuyasha had left the crowd just before the game ended going to the parking lot to stretch his legs. That the girl had asked him to join her and her friends still tugged at his mind. Why? Why had she asked when she'd always been so put out with him in class that he caught the familiar vanilla scent that he recognized to be his lab partner. He turned and saw her strolling calmly towards a car. He was close enough to the vehicle to hear the click of the door unlocking, but there was an extra click that seemed to ring in his ears. Something wasn't right. He strained to hear or smell what was off.

_Tick_

What was that?

_Tick, tick_

Yes, undeniably, that was a "tick". A constant, quiet sound coming from the car. Understanding seeped into his bran just as she called his name.

"Oi, what're you doing out here?" She smiled slightly and reached for the car door.

"Iie, Kagome..." His voice was calm, but commanding and caused her to pause. "Run."

Urgency laced the sound and she gave him a surprised look mixed with curiosity but something told her to listen. However, before she could turn, he was beside her, a clawed hand grabbing onto her waist and pulling her to him. Then she had the sensation that she was flying.

* * *

The explosion started a panic. Miroku and Sango jumped to their feet, Sango grabbing his wrist and dragging them to the front of the crowd that was starting to run towards the sound.

* * *

Kagome screamed when the bang echoed through the lot. They were still mid air at the time and Inuyasha lay his ears back to protect his sensitive hearing from the sound. He twisted as they came in for a landing, maneuvering so that he took the brunt of the impact on his shoulders and then rolled to shield her from the debris. She grabbed his sleeves and tried to curl beneath him, whimpering slightly.

When things came to an end - when the debris stopped falling and the smoke started to clear - he rolled off of her, helping her sit up.

"Oh...my...Kami-sama..." She was staring at the burning mass of metal that had once been her car, in something like a daze. "I don't think my insurance will cover this."

"Insurance? Your car insurance?" He asked in disbelief.

"Hai...my car insurance. It's only partial coverage. I don't think it's going to cover an explosion."

"You baka bitch!" Don't you realize you might have died back there?" He exclaimed getting irritated with her uncaring remarks. "And you are worried about your fucking insurance?"

She turned her head to stare at him and started to speak when the screams around them started to sink in. She looked around only be tackled by a fierce female in pink. "Kagome-chan!" Sango exclaimed. "Thank Kami you're alright!"

"You are alright, hai?" Miroku questioned, frowning in worry.

At that moment the shock that she had been in wore off and terror sunk in as Kagome started to shake in Sango's arms, sobbing wildly.

Inuyasha stared, in shock himself at her sudden change and then moved to get up, wincing when he rotated his shoulder.

"My car...I could've...but...Inuyasha...saved me..."Kagome's broken sobs caused both friends to look at him. "He...protected me..."

Sirens sounded in the distance and people were gathering. "Sango-chan and I thank you, Inuyasha, for saving our friend from such a gruesome end."

"Feh." The hanyou's groan afterwards however caught Kagome's attention and drew her out her sobs.

"Inu...You're hurt!" She just managed to catch the hanyou as he fell face forwards, unconscious.

* * *

Goshinboku - God Tree

Youkai - daemon

Shikon Pearl - My version of the Shikon no Tama

Kazaana - Wind Tunnel/Air Rip

Domo arigatou gozaimazu - I thank you very much

Nani - What?

Iie - no

Ikinasai - Be gone! Go away! Scram

Kisama - You bastard

Hanyou - half youkai/half human

Hai - yes

Kami - god

Oi - hey

Baka - fool, idiot, stupid


	6. Victims

A/N: I apologize for my mini meltdown in Chapter Three's author's note wherein I literally begged for reviews. I've gotten a hold of myself now and I promise no more dramatics. :) I'm a drama-free girl now...for a few days at least. But thank you all for answering! Review comments at the end!

Request: I was considering actually bringing in Shippou, but I haven't decided how. If any of you have any good ideas, please let me know! Thanks!

**

* * *

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**Chapter Five**

_General Hospital_

_Tokyo, Japan_

_The cavern was dark. The only light was from a small hole in the sealing that let in a small, steady stream of sunlight. If he had been paying attention to the light he would have realized that in all the time he had been there not a single day had passed, but he wasn't paying attention to that. He was completely controlled by the dank stench of death that surrounded him. No matter how deep inside of the cave he went, he could not escape the smell, it covered him until he thought he would die from it. _

_That's when he heard the voice. _Her_ voice. _

_Only when he heard her voice, only when she spoke to him, did the odor disappear. Only when her voice, young and filled with innocence drifted over him was he able to forget what had driven him to that cave in the first place and feel the peace start to edge on him. _

_Her voice kept him sane._

_And when it disappeared it took with it his only hope of survival.

* * *

_

Inuyasha groaned as he came too and found himself the emergency room of the General Hospital. He was lying on his stomach with several doctors around. One nurse was currently trying to stick an iv. in his arm and he growled low in his throat, causing her to back up. "What's that for?"

Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes, sitting in the bed next to his, the curtain that was supposed to separate them had been pushed back. They had insisted that she get checked over too. "You got hit by a piece of metal or something and your back was all cut up," she explained, coming into his line of vision. "They're just trying to help. You need to be bandaged up and they need to take you to the hospital."

"This ain't nothin'," he retorted, his voice low and harsh, tinged with pain. "It'll be nearly gone by tomorrow. I don't need to go to the hospital."

Kagome took a deep breath. _He saved your life and he got hurt doing it. Have a little sympathy for the boy. _She tugged out her cell phone. "Do you have someone you want to come for you? I'll call them, if you want."

He snarled, looking from the phone to her. "I take care of myself. I don't need to call anyone."

She gave him a skeptical look, but shrugged. "If you say so. My mom and I'll take you back to the dorm, if you want. It might be uncomfortable driving and those pain killers they're giving you are gonna make it hard to think right so it'll be really dangerous for you to be behind the wheel. It's the least we can do seeing as you saved my life." She smiled shyly. "I want to thank you. I'm very grateful for what you did and if you ever need anything - anything at all - let me know and I'll do my best to help you."

"Feh."

Kagome rolled her eyes, trying to not let him get on her nerves. _He saved you. He saved you. He saved you,_ became her mantra as she slid off of her hospital bed and headed for the hall to find her mother. _If he wants to get an attitude, then he can get an attitude. _She found her mom talking to the several police officers. One of them nodded to her and left the way she had just come, she guessed to talk to Inuyasha. Miroku and Sango were also there, keeping her mom company. When they spotted her, she was immediately tackled and embraced by a near distraught Keiko Higarashi.

"Oh, Kami-sama, Kagome! When the police called and said you were being rushed to the emergency room, that your car had been bombed, I thought I'd lost you for good!" The elder woman exclaimed, gripping her daughter tight, then pulling back to check her for injuries, her hands going to Kagome's cheeks. "Are you hurt? What happened, Kagome?"

Kagome smiled even though her eyes had started to water, the fear and absolute relief to still be alive that she had felt before coming back to her full force. "Mama, I didn't even know what happened at first," she told her, noticing that the police officers were coming closer, listening to her story. "I was going to the car to get our cooler because I knew we'd be getting thirsty soon and I unlocked the door from a few feet back. I just happened to notice Inuyasha-kun on his way back to the soccer field. Before I could even say anything he grabbed me and jumped into the air." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and then glanced back down the hall before looking back at her mom. "Mama, he's so fast! We were still in mid air when the bomb went off. He cushioned my fall and then protected me from the debris - that's how he got hurt. He saved my life."

"Mrs. Higarashi, is there anyone who might hold a grudge against your family or against your daughter? Do you know of any reason someone would want to plant a bomb in her car? Anyone who has threatened you in the past?" One of the officers, a shorter, heavy set man with beady brown eyes.

Keiko frowned. "No, my family has never been very public. My father-in-law runs a shrine here in Tokyo...we have never done anything to elicit such a violent act towards ourselves. I don't know why anyone would want to do such a thing."

"Keiko Higarashi? That's your name, correct?" The other officer, younger than the first and a head taller, was thin with light brown eyes. "Your husband was murdered some years back in a breaking and entering that went wrong, is that right?"

Sango put her hand on Kagome's shoulder, having seen the other girl tense at the mention of her past. Kagome glanced back at her friend and offered a small smile to show that it was okay. She had long ago come to terms with what had happened even if it still saddened her.

"That's right. It was believed that the intruder was after an heirloom of my husbands. He didn't get it."

"The murderer was never caught?"

"Never identified and never captured. There was no evidence to lead to identification of the man and Kagome was not able to give an accurate description." Keiko sighed and looked at her daughter, sympathetically. "She was barely four years old. Haruki had just given her the Shikon Pearl for her birthday and then to have to see that...She was traumatized. There was a time when I thought I would loose her too." She wiped the wetness gathering beneath her eyes with her index finger and took a deep breath. "It was three years before she was able to even give a statement and by that time the case was considered cold."

"I wasn't much help, either," Kagome added softly. "All I remembered was his red eyes."

The older man nodded. "And the first officer on the scene wasn't able to give an accurate description either."

"Pardon my interruption, but may I ask what this has to do with Kagome-chan's current situation?" Miroku intervened, coming up on Kagome's other side. He frowned slightly, looking a little confused.

The younger officer nodded politely. "The man was never caught and there is a slight possibility that this attack would be linked the cold case." He glanced at the palm pilot in his hand. "The theory was that the intruder was after the Shikon Pearl and thought that it would be on Mr. Higarashi's person or that he would be able to get the location out of him, but failed. Perhaps he was giving it a second chance."

The one officer that had gone in to question the hanyou came back down the hall to join his fellow officers looking extremely agitated and muttering to himself. _Bet Inuyasha wasn't too forthcoming with information,_ Kagome thought, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. It was enough to draw her attention away from the unpleasant conversation around her.

The three men huddled together and spoke quietly before the older one turned back and bowed slightly to the four of them. "Thank you for your help Mrs. Higarashi, Miss Higarashi. We will be contact you as soon as we know anything. Until then, perhaps Miss Higarashi should remain at home. We will have a car keep an eye on the shrine."

"If they're after me, I can't stay at the shrine," Kagome argued, sounding irritated. "That'll put my family in danger!"

Sango and Miroku nodded silently. "There is security at the university. The dormitories are under strict surveillance after some problems between youkai. It is highly unlikely that anyone would be able to slip in unnoticed," Miroku put in.

There was a commotion down the hall and for a second their attention was turned in that direction only to see an angry hanyou trudging towards them with an irate nurse hot on his heels. His chest was wrapped in white gauze and he was shrugging his shirt back on. "I ain't staying in some fucking hospital, so lay off already!" He had turned back to the nurse. His voice wasn't quite as loud as a normal yell, but held a threatening tone to it that caused her to back off a few paces. Having rid himself of that annoyance he turned to Kagome. "You offered a ride earlier. That still stand?"

"Hai, demo...shouldn't you be in bed?" Kagome put one hand on her hip as she looked up at him. "You were badly hurt."

"Feh."

The Dance of the Sugar Plumb Fairies interrupted the scene and Kagome sighed, clicking her phone on. "Konnichiwa, Kagome here." The irritation quickly drained from her face along with the color. Kaede-sama, slow down...wait, what happened? I can't...you have to breath...take a deep breath...slowly, Kaede-Sama...Where? Hai...I'll be right there." She hung up the phone and blinked several times, trying to digest what was happening.

"Kagome?" Sango and Miroku's voices rose in unison, curious as to what was wrong now.

Inuyasha was less concerned, but was certainly curious. "What's wrong with the old bat? Why is she calling your phone?"

Kagome frowned, looking at the pavement under her feet. "I don't now...she's really upset. I can barely understand what she was saying, but she wants me to meet her over at Kikyo-san's apartment building," she said quietly. "She was crying...I'm really worried and I'm really scared. I've never heard Kaede-san like that." She looked up at Inuyasha, her cobalt blue eyes clouded. "I think you're going to have to wait on that ride. I...I have to go...I have to...go..." Panic seeped in slowly and her friends gave each other worried glances.

Keiko looked worried too. She bowed to the officers and took her daughters hand. "Let's go then. Bring your friends."

* * *

_Apartment Building_

_Tokyo, Japan_

The police cars that surrounded the apartment only helped to fuel Kagome's panicked state as they pulled up and she was opening the car door and jumping out before Keiko had come to a complete stop. Miroku, Sango and Inuyasha followed suit close behind.

Kaede was waiting for them, obviously distraught, at the front door of the building and Kagome ran for her. The elder, shorter woman closed her eyes and took her hands in her own. "Kagome...Kagome..." Her normally tanned skin was pale and her touch was cold. For the first time since Kagome was a child she could see the wrinkles that lined Kaede's eyes and mouth, showing her age.

"Kaede-san?" Her voice was soft and pleading, sounding much like it had those first few days after she had woken up. "Nani desu ka? Onegai, tell me. Where is Kikyo-chan?"

The older woman shook her head. "Kikyo-nee-san...her neighbor heard a scream and went to check on her. When they got to the apartment, nee-san didn't answer the door...Kagome...Kikyo-nee-san is dead."

"Iie...iie...masaka..." Kagome shook her head emphatically and bit the inside of her cheek, knowing it had to be true. Kaede would not say something so horrible if it were not true. "How? Doshite? Doshite Kikyo-chan? She never did anything to anyone...Why would anyone want to hurt her?" She threw her arms around Kaede's shoulders and sobbed right along with the old woman.

Miroku and Sango lowered their heads. They had heard Kagome speak of Kikyo and new the two had been close. Keiko took several deep breaths and blinked as her own tears fell silently. She and Kikyo were near the same age and had developed a friendship during Kagome's recovery that had lasted through the years. The news of her death was a hard blow to take. Even the hanyou managed to keep his mouth shut and look mournful. The sorrow filled sent that came from those near him was enough to sober even the roughest youkai.

Kaede allowed herself to be comforted by her young patient for a moment and then dislodged herself from the girl's grip, taking her hands once more. "Kagome, nee-chan never stopped searching for that man. She was very close to finding the answers. I looked for her notes, for her research and found it missing. Whoever did this knew she was on to him and wanted to make sure his identity remained unknown."

Her lower lip trembled as Kagome looked down at Kaede. "Demo...Kikyo-chan never said...I didn't know..."

The doctor nodded slightly. "She did not want you to worry or to get your hopes up until she knew something for sure. I think Kikyo knew something like this might occur. She...she left a copy of everything with me...said it was in case the apartment caught on fire or some other natural disaster occurred."

"She didn't want you to worry." Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and took a shuddering breath. "Honto ni sumimasen...Yurushite kudasai...this happened because of me. Doomo sumimasen, Kaede-san."

"No, child, no. Nee-chan knew what she was doing and she wanted to do it. She could not rest knowing that she had allowed someone so horrible to escape and continue to roam free. Despite her occupation, her duty was to serve and protect. This was her way of continuing that duty."

It was too much. Between the nightmarish predictions, the bomb, and now Kikyo's death, it became to much for Kagome to handle and without warning her eyes widened, rolling back into her head and she fell forward into the comfort of darkness.

* * *

_"Hey there little one," said a cheerful voice from her doorway. She turned to see a smiling woman, about her mother's age, standing there, waiting for permission to come in. She was pretty. _Like an angel_, she thought and found herself smiling in return. Her dark hair was pulled back in a braid, but she could see that it was long, falling below her waist. _

_"Hi." Her own voice was rough and cracked from misuse. "Who are you?"_

_The woman came in and sat on the edge of the bed, her smile still there, but not as bright. "I met you once before, but we were never introduced. My name is Kikyo Ten'nou. I'm Dr. Kaede's nee-san."_

_She turned to get a better look at her, scrunching her face up thoughtfully. "You're the woman with the strange gun...you scared the monster away."_

_Kikyo nodded. "That was a miko's gun. I'm a miko, you see." She brushed the hair out of the little girl's face.

* * *

_

Kagome groaned as she came to and put a hand to her head. "Mama?" She looked around and found her mother and Kaede to her right. Sango and Miroku were to her left and her head rested on something soft and yet firm. Where was she? When her curiosity got the better of her, she leaned her head back to see who or what was behind her only to meet a pair of large golden eyes. Immediately she stiffened and bolted upright with a light squeak.

And then things came back to her. The dream the night before. The soccer game. The car bomb. The phone call. Kikyo...She looked to Kaede with wide blue eyes only to find her worst fears confirmed. "No..." She wrapped her arms around her mother and buried her face in her shoulder as she cried.

"Keiko-san," Kaede said softly, her own dark eyes rimmed with red and shimmered with her own tears, "I think that perhaps Kagome and the other children should consider visiting the retreat. There are things that must be discussed and I believe that may be the safest place at the moment. Unfortunately this matter now concerns all of you and not just Kagome."

* * *

Definitions

Kami-sama - god

Shikon Pearl - my version of the Shikon no Tama

Hai - yes

Demo - but

Konnichiwa - hello

Nani desu ka? - What is it?

Onegai - please

Nee-san - sister

Iie - no

Masaka - impossible

Doshite? - why?

Honto ni sumimasen - I am sorry

Yurushite kudasai - Forgive me

Doomo sumimasen - I'm very sorry

* * *

Punkgoddess - Thank you! I'm currently working on the next chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with some idea to convey some sort of explanation of who the red eyes are and what Kagome's connection with Inuyasha and the others is.

Yami112123 - Ano…Domo arigatou gozaimazu! My knowledge of the Japanese language comes from reading translated mangas on the internet and those few fanfics that actually have translations in them. I'm working on it, but I'm not very good and I appreciate all the help I can get!

Tenma - I'm glad you like it. :)

Yashafan1 - Thank you! While a slower paced fic has more time for in depth character development, I think that a faster pace keeps people interested longer and can also allow the same character development a slower one does. I kinda wavered on the idea of killing Kikyo, but…in the end it was just right. Unlike a lot of Inuyasha fans, I don't hate Kikyo. I just don't like the Kikyo/Inuyasha pairing. As for Naraku…we'll just have to see! I thought about doing one of those stories like Iris Johansen's _The Killing Game_ where there's all these murders and stuff taking place, but you don't know the name of the killer - all you know is his alias, just like the characters. And every time you _think_ you know who it is, they end up getting killed and you don't find out who it really is until the very last few pages and then it's someone you would so totally never expect, but I decided on this style instead. You'll find out who it is in the next chapter or two.

MintyFresh - Thanks! I'm glad you liked that artifact idea. I needed some way to tie the four of them in to each other. Of course Inuyasha and Kagome will have a more in depth connection to one another. Bows to Rumiko Takahashi I think Takahashi-sama did a very good job in her character development and I want to stick as close to her genius as possible.:) falls off chair Poor, sweet, misunderstood Inu-kun? A murderer? tweaks Inu's ears Never!

kirei-kitsune - Thank you! I'm glad you like it.

Josie'n the P.cats - hehe! Thought it needed a cliffie. Thank you!


	7. Connections

A/N: Now the characters get to figure out what's going on - and I think I may even let you know who's behind it all. :) AND for those Sesshomaru lovers out there...He'll be showing up shortly. And Rin. And (unfortunately) Jaken.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

_Rainbow Valley Retreat Facility_

_Osaka, Japan

* * *

_

It took several hours aboard a train and a long trip in a limousine but finally the small group of four looked out the window as they came to a large walled and gated estate. A guard at the front gate spoke with the limo driver while the others sat quietly in the back. Kagome sat, eyes closed, with her head lain over on Sango's shoulder and Sango had her arm around her. On her other side Miroku who absently patted her hand in soothing strokes. When he'd first started this task, Sango had given him an evil glare, silently accusing him of trying something perverted, but had finally relaxed when she saw that his intentions this time were pure. Kaede sat across from them, hands clutched her lap, head bowed, eyes closed. Inuyasha was beside her, absently staring out the window. Keiko had finally agreed to stay at the shrine with her son and father in law. She had wanted to go along to look after Kagome, but had finally allowed them to convince her it was safer for everyone if she didn't.

Kagome sighed and opened her eyes, but didn't move from her friend's comfort. Inuyasha's ears swiveled in her direction, but his eyes never left the window. He was tense, she realized. His hands were clenched in his lap and he was grinding his teeth. Why did this bother _him_ so much? He didn't know Kikyo-chan. Was he just angry that he'd gotten drawn into this? Did he regret saving her now?

As the car lurched forward once more, the creaking sound of the electronic gate reaching them, she sat up. Miroku gave her hand one last squeeze and let it go, she offered him a tiny smile of gratitude. Sango's arm slowly fell from her shoulders and she stretched it slightly, exercising her stiff muscles.

The limo stopped again and this time the engine shut off. Moments later the door opened and the driver waited for them to climb out. What they saw in the dying sun was a three story Western styled house of sandstone in the middle of a large track of land. Kaede sighed and climbed out with the others following. Kagome smiled a bit bigger this time. _It feels like coming home, kinda. If I can't be in my real home...I want to be here._

Inuyasha, however, only deepened his scowl. _I hate this place. Why did we have to come here of all places? _

"I worked here over the summer. It's absolutely gorgeous during the summer," Kagome was telling her friends softly. "The grass is green and the trees are thick enough to offer a cool shade by the pond. There's a garden out back. It's the perfect place for people to come to heal."

Kaede was leading them through the door and into the entry way which was decorated in a European style. Miroku and Sango walked slowly behind Kagome, admiring the knick knacks and paintings that donned the shelves and walls of the house as they were led through the hall towards a sitting room and were motioned to sit down. Kaede went to a large oak desk and pulled out a few files which she rifled through.

Tired of the quiet and feeling more and more on edge Inuyasha glared at the old woman. "Get out with it all ready. What's so damned important that you had to drag us all the way out here to tell us? And what's any of this got to do with me? It's not like I knew the woman or anything."

Kagome clenched her fists. "Shut up! Just shut the hell up! No one forced you to come out here and no one is making you stay!" She yelled at the hanyou, launching from her seat on a sofa and towering over where he sat in a chair.

"Kagome..." Sango's quiet voice caught her attention and she whirled on her.

"No, Sango-chan. We have been nice to him through this entire thing. He saved my life and I will be eternally grateful for that, but I won't stand this attitude." She lashed out at Inuyasha again, her grief having taken a turn from sorrow to anger. "Wipe that stupid scowl off your face and sit there nice and quiet and maybe, just maybe, you might find out why Kaede-san asked us to come here." With a frustrated sigh she turned and practically fell back onto her seat on the sofa beside Sango.

Miroku and Sango shared a confused and yet amused glance, the earlier trying to hide a grin as he leaned against the couch arm. They knew Kagome was passionate and had a bit of a temper, but this was a new level.

"Feh, whatever bitch." The hanyou crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, waiting for the doctor to speak.

Kaede picked up a few papers and then looked at the children. "While Kagome seems to be the main focus at the moment, my sister had reasons to believe that all of you are connected to one another and each of you will eventually face the same danger as Kagome."

"How? Why would we be in danger?" Sango questioned, frowning in confusion.

"And what do you mean we are connected? How would Ms. Ten'nou know anything about us?" Miroku added, motioning to himself and Sango.

Kaede took a photograph from her files and handed it to him. A necklace hung from a blue velvet display mannequin. The pendant was a large pearl that took on a purplish blue light when the camera's flash reflected on it and was suspended by a silver chain. Smaller pearls with less brilliance were suspended sporadically along the chain. Kagome glanced at the photograph and idly fingered the pendant around her neck. The same one pictured.

"The large pearl there is the Shikon no Tama. It is a jewel that has been in existence since about 985 a.d. and has been more recently known as the Shikon Pearl. There are many legends surrounding its existence, of course, but the main one says that the jewel has the ability to grant the wishes of holder. Kagome? Do you mind showing us the trinket that you wear?" She glanced at the girl who obligingly lifted her chin and held the pearl out by the chain, allowing them to get a better look at it. "That is the sacred jewel in the picture. Kagome's family has been in charge of keeping it safe for the past few centuries. Kagome has told you of her past, ne?" When the two nodded - they had seemingly forgotten the sulky hanyou - Kaede continued. "Then I will not burden her by reiterating, but will tell you all that it is believed that it was the Shikon Pearl the man was after when he broke into the Higarashi house that night."

Kagome tucked the pearl back under the neck of her shirt while Inuyasha finally announced his confusion. "I think I missed something. Who was after that thing? Doshite?"

"Someone broke into my house when I was little," Kagome answered stiffly. "They...they killed my otou-chan...that's who she's talking about. We don't know who it was...there was no evidence..."

"Oh." He sat back in the chair again, pacified for the moment, maybe regretting asking his question.

Kaede took the photo back and set it on the desk, picking up another and handing it to Miroku. This time the photo was of a large boomerang, yellowish in color with black stripes around the top and bottom. It stood upright in a large display case. "Four years after the attempted Higarashi robbery, what the officials classified as a youkai, broke into the Osaka Museum and stole an antique weapon called the Haraikotsu." Sango's eyes were wide as they moved from the picture to the doctor. "That's right, Sango, the same Haraikotsu that was created by the taijiya of your ancestry. The weapon was made of youkai bone by a tribe of taijiya around 1001 a.d. and was used to slay many youkai before the practice finally died out and the weapon was simply passed from father to son, or daughter, from generation to generation. Sango's father had it insured and donated it to the Osaka museum where it stayed for many years. When it was stolen in 1990 there was seemingly nothing to direct the police towards the culprit. Nothing that is, except a blurry piece of video from a security camera." She handed them another photograph, a blown up still from a video tape that showed the outline of a human man in the shadows. There was no distinguishable features except for two large red eyes.

Kagome choked and shut her eyes, blocking out the image. Having had his curiosity piqued, Inuyasha stood and went to stand where he could look at the photograph over the other boy's shoulder.

Kaede's expression softened and she reached out a hand to gently pat Kagome's head. "I apologize, Kagome. I realize that it is difficult for you to face the demons of your past." She took the two photos back and laid them face down on the folder. "Kagome's upset is because the youkai that was captured on film is quite possibly the same one that attacked her years ago. Have you begun to understand what I mean when I say that the four of you are connected in this predicament?"

Sango nodded slightly. "So, the youkai that stole my family's heirloom also tried to steal Kagome's...And if he's the same one that planted the bomb in Kagome's car then..."

"Demo, Dr. Ten'nou, what about Inuyasha and myself?"

Kaede nodded and handed them two more pictures. One of a yellowed paper sutra beneath a string of prayer beads, lying on black velvet and encased in glass. The other was of two katanas - large swords that appeared to be far beyond useful in their rusted state and surrounded by white fur just below the hilt.

"What the hell -"

Inuyasha's exclamation was cut off when Kaede raised her hand. "The first is the Kazaana Sutra. It was once used by an evil youkai to curse a young monk with an air void in his right hand. The curse would pass from father to son until it was broken. When it finally was the sutra that had caused the void was wrapped around his hand with the prayer beads. Since then it has been kept by the Takaeuchi family as a reminder of their history, is that not correct, Miroku?"

The young man nodded. "My grandfather gave it to Tokyo's museum, but it was stolen six years ago. Unfortunately they were not able to get a video or any sort of proof as to the culprit behind the theft."

"But it showed the same means of entry. In both thefts the security guards were found dead, pierced by something large and very sharp. The official report is that the same youkai is likely responsible. The unofficial reports speculate that it may be a man known as Onigumo," Kaede informed them, ignoring the impatient frown on Inuyasha's features. "Onigumo was a talented thief in the early seventies. He stole a number of items during his raids, but his express interest was in the Shikon Pearl. The police are cautious of naming him as suspect because he was supposed to have died in a fire in the mid eighties. However, there was no body found in the ruins."

"But what's that got to do with my family?" Inuyasha demanded. "Why do you have a picture of my father's katanas? They've never been touched! No one has ever even attempted to steal them or go near them."

Kaede nodded in agreement. "However, they complete the circle. I believe the only reason Onigumo, or whoever this person is, has never attempted to take the katanas is because he could not find them. Though they were insured there was never a location or a name publicized. Kikyo-nee-chan was only able to find out because of her connections." She swallowed and looked away from them, hands shaking. "When Kikyo-nee-chan was attacked, her records were stolen. This person now knows exactly how to go about finding their location."

Kagome looked from one person to the other and took a deep breath, willing herself to forget recent events for the moment and focus on the stories that Kaede was telling them. "What circle does the katanas complete?"

"There is a legend that when these five items are brought together and the possessor will be granted a god-like quality. He or she will be immortal and more powerful than the strongest youkai. They will be able to control the continents. In the hands of someone like Onigumo such an ability, if the legend was true, would be destructive. In any event they would bring him a tremendous fortune and we already know that he would kill each of you and anyone one else who got in his way to obtaining them."

Their expressions were grim as they digested this information. This Onigumo would be after them. He wanted Kagome's necklace and Inuyasha's katanas and if her friends got in his way, he'd kill them too.

The door opened and caused them to jump, so deep were they in their thoughts. A little girl with black hair pulled into a sloppy pony tail looked around the door at them with wide brown eyes. She looked terrified as she looked to Kaede and then seemed to shrink several inches as she drew herself up, looking guilty.

Kaede sighed. "Is there something you need Rin?" The little girl didn't say a word or make any kind of movement. "Shouldn't you be in the dinning room with the other children?" Still the girl made no answer of any sort and Kaede nodded, turning to the others. "I will be back in a moment." She offered her hand to Rin who took it in her small one. "Come along Rin, lets find Miss Miri and see if she'll sit with you for a while. Does that sound good?" She closed the door behind her, leaving the young adults to themselves.

Kagome sighed. "Gomen ne, guys. You should go back to Tokyo. He's already got your families artifacts and he has no reason to come after you again. If you stay by me you're gonna be in danger."

Sango shook her head. "Don't be silly, Kagome-chan. We wouldn't leave you alone, would we Miroku?"

"Of course not. It's been a hard day for you, Kagome. If what Dr. Ten'nou says is true, then you're going to need someone you can trust to help keep you safe. As your friends it is our duty."

"Feh." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and fell back into his previous seat, crossing his arms once more. "I don't know about you, but I plan on leaving this stupid house as soon as I can get a ride back to the station."

Kagome could feel her anger rising again. "What is your problem? Kaede-san is just trying to help us."

"That old bat's helped me enough as it is." Of course she wasn't really an old bat if he wanted to be perfectly honest. She was only in her forties after all. "I don't need or want any more of her 'help.'"

"What are you talking about? What did Kaede-chan ever do to make you so sour?" Her frustration was evident.

He turned his nose up and looked away from them, scowling. "She made me come back."

"I swear," Kagome muttered and then glared at him. "She made you come back? What's that -" Understanding suddenly clicked and her expression became neutral. "You were...a catatonic patient? When were you here?"

"Yeah, I was a damn vegetable for three fucking years. My stupid ass brother brought me here in 1990 because he didn't want to deal with me. So? Why do you wanna know?"

"In 1990? That's the same year..." She trailed off, thoughtfully. She didn't remember him, but then, if he were just getting there, she wouldn't have seen him. "I was in a catatonic coma too. She brought me out the same year you got here."

"Feh."

"Why are you angry at Kaede-san for bringing you back? Aren't you glad to have a normal life back?"

His glare was cold, but his eyes were filled with the pain she'd recognized the first day she met him Chemistry lab. "No. She should have just let me lay like that till I died. I didn't want to come back. The bitch had no right."

Kagome's expression softened to one filled with compassion. "Oh, Inuyasha-kun..."

He stood up and crossed the room to the door. "I don't want your pity, bitch. If the hag comes back, I'll be outside." With that he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Glossary

Ne - no?

Hanyou - half youkai/half human

Doshite - Why?

Otou-chan - father

Taijiya - youkai slayer

Youkai - daemon

Demo - but

Katana - sword

Kazaana - wind tunnel/air rip

Nee-chan - elder sister

Gomen ne - I'm sorry

* * *

Review Comments

Kirei-Kitsune - I was, for a short time, a 'Kikyo Hater', but then I read this really great one-shot fic and, after having reread some of the interactions between Kikyo/Inuyasha/Kagome, I came to a realization or understanding about her. The fic is called Naishin no Miko by Ruth Woytsek (http/ I decided to use Kikyo in this way was because Kagome wouldn't be her reincarnation and since Kikyo never died as a teenager, she aged as any normal person would then she just kinda developed into a mother figure and friend to Kagome...

Eartha - It's gonna happen soon, I swear! They're fixin' to be thrown into a situation where they have to become dependant upon one another.

Yasha1 - Yeah I know...I keep putting all this tragedy on Kagome. It's not premeditated...it just sort of happens. heheh. If Inuyasha wasn't loud mouthed and rude, he wouldn't be Inuyasha. You will not be disappointed, I promise. This is not gonna be one of those stories where they just instantly fall for each other. giggles


	8. Coming to Grips

**Chapter Seven**

Rainbow Valley Retreat Facility

Osaka, Japan

* * *

Sango sat sideways in an overstuffed chair. Her back leaned against one arm with her hair hanging loose over the arm in a cascade of brown, and her legs were dangling over the other arm. In her lap were the two folders that Kaede had been taken out earlier. She was reading the reports and print outs surrounding Onigumo and their items. Her concentration was focused completely on the files in front of her, so much so that she didn't hear the door open or notice that someone had entered. When a hand touched her shoulder, she jumped. "Miroku!" She gasped, turning to see who it was.

He grinned. "Have you learned anything new?" He moved around behind the chair and leaned over the back to see the files over her shoulder.

"That guy...Onigumo...He was a thief, found responsible for thefts dating from 1965 to about June of 1978. When he first started it was petty theft, from private homes and as he got better at it he is suspected to have stolen at least 19 pieces of expensive art and sold it on the black market as well as several jewelry heists. The police had him cornered in an abandoned building in June of 1978, but before they could get to him, he set the place on fire and supposedly died although his body was never found." She held up a print out with Onigumo's stats on it and a picture of the rubble that had been his last hideout which Miroku took and scanned over. "The police put him down as dead and called the cases closed, but a few of his possessions were found a few years later and among them were some notes explaining a way for a human to become a youkai...or at least a hanyou by allowing lesser youkai to devour his body. A few people have speculated that perhaps he was able to do that."

Miroku nodded and handed the papers back to her, picking up another, the photograph of the red eyed intruder that had bothered Kagome so much. "I can understand why that would be a concern for the police, but what would have them believing this Onigumo is the one behind these murders and thefts?"

She dug through the pile of papers and handed him another print out. "Also found among his belongings were photographs of the Shikon Pearl and the legend that talks about the joining of the artifacts."

"Good reason."

Sango closed the files and lay her head back against the thick cushion of the chair arm, looking up at him with a sigh. His hair had fallen from its short pony tail and hung around his face making him look more boyish than usual. _I like him this way...with his hair down like that. He looks...innocent._ Her cheeks pinkened and she was glad his attention was focused on the papers in his hands. Kagome had been right when she had accused Sango of liking Miroku as more than just a friend and she didn't deny it, but he was hardly what she considered dating material and she feared that allowing him to know that she felt that way would ruin the relationship that they already had. "What were you up to while I was working on this? Not torturing the nurses, I hope?"

His smile, when he flashed it, was charming. "Worried were you Sango-chan?" He teased. "Don't you know you're the woman in my heart?" He laughed when she tugged on his loose hair. "Kagome made sure that I didn't get anywhere near the nurses. She's been showing me around the retreat. It's actually a wonderful concept. The house is much warmer and more welcoming than the cold and sterile environment of most facilities and I think that helps the patients to feel more relaxed and focused on their recovery."

Sango nodded. "I noticed that. I noticed that Kagome really likes it here too." She sighed. "I just hope that nothing happens here...After what happened to her there must be so few places where she feels completely safe. I would hate for her to have to loose this safe haven."

Miroku nodded and, in an attempt to lighten the mood, winked, patting her knee. "You have nothing to worry about, Sango-chan. I will protect you both."

"Some how the thought of your means of protection doesn't make me feel much safer." She grinned and blushed again when she realized her hand had moved to cover his on her knee and quickly drew it away.

* * *

Inuyasha sat in the bedroom that had been assigned to him for while they were there. His usual scowling expression had only deepened to show his disgust as he dialed a number on the telephone. "Jaken, this is Inuyasha. Put my brother on the phone, now."

"Sesshomaru-san has no desire to speak with you, Inuyasha." The toad youkai sounded so stuck up it made the hanyou wish he could go through the phone line and knock off the smug look that was marring the youkai's already ugly features.

"I don't get a damn what Sesshomaru wants or doesn't want, but if you want to live to see another sunrise you'll get his ass on the phone. It concerns our father's heirlooms."

There was a pause and then a sigh. "Just a moment."

After several minutes of silence he heard a click and then his brother's monotone voice. "What is it you wish to tell me, Inuyasha?"

"I don't feel like explaining everything to you, Sesshomaru, but I thought you might like to know some bastard is after the katanas. He's stolen several artifacts over the past few years and evidence suggests he'll go after the swords next. He's murdered several people."

"You're concern for my welfare is touching, little brother."

Inuyasha growled, his had tightening on the receiver. "I don't give a damn what happens to you. The bastard could kill you for all I care, but I'll be damned if I'll let his dirty hands on father's swords. The Tetsuseiga is my inheritance."

"And it is perfectly safe locked in the same vault as my Tenseiga," Sesshomaru told him, sounding put out about having to have this conversation. "No one knows were the vault is."

"They do now. Kaede's sister was researching the swords and had some sort of connections to the insurance company that insures the katanas. She had the records with the address and everything. When he killed the wench this morning he took all her information."

There was a growl on the other end. "Where are you?"

"The retreat facility."

"Do not leave there." Sesshomaru's voice was dark and commanding. "I will be there in the morning and we will discuss the continued safety of our father's legacy." Before the young man could argue there was a click and the dial tone rang in his sensitive ears. He slammed the receiver down and punched the pillow to release his aggravation before storming out towards the deck out back. He needed fresh air and some time to think.

Unfortunately he didn't find it. Sitting in a deck chair, looking up at the stars, was the dark haired girl who'd gotten him drug into this mess in the first place. He started to turn back around and go back in, but she called to him before he could make his escape. "You don't have to leave. I just needed some time to clear my head," she said softly. "I won't talk to you, if you don't want."

* * *

He gave the back of her head a suspicious glare, but moved to sit in a chair on the other side of the deck. After a few minutes of silence, he couldn't take it any longer and finally looked over at her. "So, you were here for being a vegetable too." It wasn't so much a question as a statement.

She nodded slightly. "It's not a vegetable, Inuyasha. It's called a catatonic coma. There's a difference. I was like that for nearly four years."

"Doshite?"

She didn't speak for a long time and he began to think she wasn't going to answer, but before he could get up and leave, she turned to look at him. "I watched that monster kill my father and then come after me. I couldn't physically escape him so I mentally did." She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. "I would have died that night, but Kikyo-chan stopped him and saved me. What about you? Do you mind telling me?"

Hell yes he minded. He hadn't talked about that night to anyone, not even to Kaede. To talk about it would mean he relived it, but something told him he should tell her. She had told him her story and it must have been difficult for her. But still...

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want too," she said, sensing his hesitation. "If you're scared..."

"Bitch, I ain't scared of anything." He shot her a cold glare. "I was in a car accident with my parents. My otou-san died on impact, but my okaa-chan was still alive when I woke up. She died shortly after. It was several hours before we were found. I withdrew to get away from the death. From the smell...from the sight..." He trailed off. "My brother stuck me here to get rid of me. I wanted to just die. She should have just let me, but she wouldn't. She kept on till I finally woke up. She had no right to do that."

"Kaede was trying to help you. She still could, if you'd let her."

"I don't need her help. I don't need anyone."

Kagome sighed. "Of course you don't," she muttered and stood up. "Kaede couldn't let you die. She's not that sort of person. Someday you'll understand why...and I hope that someday you will find someone who can help you realize that there is something worth living for...that there was something worth coming back for. It took four years, but someone finally was able to explain that to me and I made myself and that person a promise that I would live every day to it's fullest."

"And who was that person?"

Her eyes fell to the wood of the deck and she sighed, shrugging slightly. "I don't know, but whoever it was, I owe them my life."

* * *

A/N: This was a short chapter, but I thought there needed to be a little character interactment and development. Next chapter - Sesshomaru!

* * *

Review Comments

Yashafan1 - Thank you! I had hoped that was a good idea. Of course there's gonna be ass kicking! What would an Inuyasha fanfic be without the ass kicking:)

Eartha - Thank you!

Reiko Nayotake - blush that was a typo that I fixed on the saved version, I just haven't gotten around to uploading it to But thanks for pointing it out. If you see any other mistakes, please let me know so I can get them fixed.

Punkgoddess - Thank you! There will be some definite fluff later. Sooner between Sango and Miroku than between Inuyasha and Kagome. There's been so much depression in the fic that I think it's time to lighten up the mood with some fluff. :)

MintyFresh - What I meant was that I've seen a lot of AU fics that have Inuyasha and Kagome seeing each other across a room (or whatever) and then BAM! Instantly they're in love in the course of just a few sentences. But the anime/manga was not like that at all. There was a definite pull to one another and Kagome was sympathetic towards him and was reserved to the fact that she'd have to work with him, but Inuyasha couldn't stand her. Not at first. He was only using her as a means to an end for a while. It took a bit for the feelings to actually begin to bloom to friendship...I think it really started to show up after the first time she saw him as a human and she cried for him when the spider youkai poisoned him. My fic's gonna be kinda like that. There'll be a pull, but it'll be a bit before they actually realize that it's more than just this situation that's connecting them. As for Sesshomaru...He'll be around soon. I mean, he is the one that's in possession of the katana's at the moment and since Onigumo's gonna be after them too...Inu-kun might not like his brother, but he doesn't want his katana stolen either. :)


	9. Mind Over Matter

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha and Company. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. _I DO_, however, own Miri and Varsha. :) If I make up any more, I'll let you know.

A/N: Varsha is a made up character of mine. She is an incarnation of Naraku and is a mind control youkai. Her name means mind. Her attacks are _Trance of the Cobra_ where, if she can touch the victim, she puts two fang like marks on their skin and uses the pendulum necklace to control their minds and actions. _Copy Cat Attack_ She can use the same attacks that anyone else does once she's seen them. Or rather, she can create an illusion of the attack. So long as her opponent thinks that the attack is real and will hurt them, it will hurt them. The second they realize it's an illusion it becomes harmless. It's her last resort. _Mists of Confusion_ she throws an illusionary dust at the person which causes them to become lost in their worst fears.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

_Rainbow Valley Retreat Facility_

_Osaka, Japan

* * *

_

_There was a movement from outside the Goshinboku. She could just make out a pair of blue jeans and bare feet. "W-Who's there?"_

_"Crawl to the door and get ready to run when I tell you." Whoever it was hadn't answered her question, but she knew then that it was the voice that had kept her company for so long now. He kept his promise to protect her and she had been successful in bringing him to her forest, though she didn't know how. She crouched by the door, ready to spring up and out as soon as the signal was given. Just ahead and to her right, in the shadows, appeared two blood red eyes, staring back at her, daring her to move from the protective barrier of the sacred tree._

_"H-he's h-here." Her lip quivered in fright._

_"I can see that. Now get ready." She couldn't see the boy from where she was except for his blue jeans and bare feet. he seemed to crouch into a fighting stance facing her pursuer. "Ima! Now! Go!_

_Without waiting for any further instructions, she jumped and took off at a run as fast as she could. Behind her she could hear a roaring scream from the Red Eyes and a matching one from her savior, but she didn't dare look back. She just kept running until she left the security of the sacred forest into a patch of black existence, but she kept running from everything around her towards the light that she knew would offer her security and then...

* * *

_

Sunshine filtered through the blinds on her bedroom window and brought Kagome out of her dreams .She groaned slightly and turned, putting her back towards the window. Sango, her bed partner for the night (there were only a few unoccupied rooms), pulled the sheets up over her head to block out the unwanted daylight.

"What time is it?" Sango's sleep filled voice inquired.

Kagome forced her eyes open and searched the wall for the clock she knew would have to be around somewhere. "It's a little after seven," she answered groggily and yawned. "We really should get up. Mrs. Mizuna makes a really good omelet, but she won't be willing after eight." To prove her point, she pulled back the covers and stood, stretching and then slipped on a pair of fuzzy house-shoes. Sango groaned and finally decided to follow her to the kitchen where they met an already dressed Miroku who surveyed them with a half cocked grin making them almost regret coming down in their pajamas.

Though they were all still emotionally and physically exhausted from the previous day, the coffee in their hands and the smell of eggs through the downstairs was enough to get them ready to face the day - and the commotion that seemed to be going on outside.

Kaede and several of the security staff were greeting a very angry looking man. Their visitor stood at least three feet above the tallest security guard and had the same long white hair as a certain hanyou, minus the doggy ears. When Kagome leaned over Sango's shoulder to get a better look from the window, she could see that the newcomer's ears were in the normal area, but were pointed, signifying that this was indeed no human, but a youkai. He wore a khaki colored business suit and held a long case in one hand. The other was balled into a fist, but she got a good look at the long claws that donned each finger. Also, like the hanyou, this youkai sported gorgeous golden eyes. However, unlike the half youkai, his eyes were filled with hate and repulsion for that which stood before. him.

"That must be Inuyasha's brother." Miroku's observation broke into Kagome's thoughts and the young girl jumped slightly, looking at her friend. "They look alike, don't you think? I mean, obviously one's a full youkai and the other isn't and there are some drastic differences in their appearance, but they do look similar enough to put them in the same gene pool."

"Inuyasha mumbled something last night about his brother coming, didn't he? Sango inquired. "Something about keeping the swords safe from this Onigumo fellow?"

"Kami-sama, it's no wonder Inuyasha didn't want to tell him. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near someone that foreboding either," Kagome muttered.

"His aura is dark." They looked at Miroku when he made the comment and he blushed slightly. "Mine was a family of monks. The sacred powers were passed down from one generation to another. Though some of us decide to follow in our ancestor's footsteps, the majority have gone on to other things. But the abilities are still there. Your family line is of mikos, is it not, Kagome?" When she nodded he grinned. "You too should possess some sort of spiritual power then."

"Not that I've ever seen." She sounded a little tiffed at the fact.

* * *

_"Stop crying already." His voice was harsher than he'd meant it to be. It was just he couldn't stand to hear that sound, not from the one person who brought serenity to his tortured existence. _

_"I'm trying..." her voice wavered and he heard her sniffle. "I miss my mommy and my jii-chan and my brother..."_

_His hands clenched into fists. "Then go back to them. Go home." He could _feel_ her fear when he said those words. It washed over him with such amazing strength it was almost as if _he_ were the one afraid instead of her._

_"I-I can't." Her voice was a mere whisper. "He'll get me. Red Eyes is waiting for me. If I leave the Goshinboku, he'll find me. I can't leave, not ever."_

_"Yes, you can." Why did he feel the urge to help this person? He'd never even seen her. He didn't even know her name! Why did he feel the need to make her happy? Why did he care if she were safe or not? "Bring me there - like you did before. I'll keep the Red Eyes away and you can go home."_

_Her breath hitched in her throat. "But I...I don't know how I did it before. I didn't try...You just showed up." After a short pause she sighed. "It won't work. He'll kill me...he said he'd kill me."_

_How could he long to see something that made him so irritated kept safe? "No. He. Won't." He punctuated each word with a punch to the stone wall of his cavern. "I'll protect you. He won't hurt you. He'll never hurt you again."_

_"Domo arigatou gozaimazu." He could feel her smile and it made him relax. Now he just had to wait for her to bring him to her forest.

* * *

_

Inuyasha growled and threw the covers back off of his body. He hated those damn dreams! He'd thought he got rid of them, but here they were disturbing his sleep once more, making him yearn for the peace he'd felt when he was surrounded by her essence...locked deep away in the cavern of his mind.

He yanked a pair of gray sweatpants on over his boxers when a familiar scent reached his sensitive nose. _Chikosho! He doesn't wait much time does he?_ He knew Sesshomaru would show up, but he'd expected him much later in the afternoon. Kami, but he hated facing his elder brother.

Without even considering his dress, or lack there of, he hurried down the steps, towards the front hall. Sure enough the bane of his existence stood looming over Kaede and the other college students. "Konnichiwa, little brother," the silver haired inu youkai greeted with barely contained contempt.

"Konnichiwa Onii-san." The formal greeting was bit out through clenched teeth. It was no secret to those watching that these two had a definite dislike for one another.

"Ano," Kaede said carefully, trying to break up the sudden death stare that had arisen between the brothers. "Kagome-chan, why don't you and the others take Sesshomaru-san to the drawing room and explain the situation to him while I see about some tea for our guest. You do drink tea, Sesshomaru-san? Or may I offer you something else in its place?"

The youkai looked down at the elder woman with a piercing golden gaze. "Tea will be acceptable, Doctor, arigatou."

Kaede nodded and turned, leaving them to themselves. With a nod, Kagome turned to lead them to the drawing room office when her eyes fell on Inuyasha's exposed, and quite muscular, chest. The cobalt orbs widened and a slight pink blush tinged the bridge of her nose. Before she could look away, his snarl reached her ears. "What're you looking at, wench?"

Her blush deepened and she forced her gaze to the floor. "Nothing, Inuyasha-kun, nothing at all. Gomen ne."

He frowned as he followed the rest to the room where he'd learned about their connection the day before and couldn't help wondering why she'd stared at him. Hadn't she ever seen a man's chest before? It wasn't that big a deal. Unless of course something about it disgusted her...it was a possibility. He was a _hanyou_ after all.

* * *

It was all Miri, the youngest of the staff at Rainbow Valley, could do to keep Rin from going around the youkai that had been added to their guest list. The child was fascinated with him for some reason. As the day progressed it got harder and harder to keep tabs on the mute child and by noon she found the girl inspecting the inu youkai's toad looking valet with deep interest. He 'acked' and frowned angrily while she circled around him, awe in her features.

Miri quickly approached and took the girl's arm, causing her to scrunch up her face in a manner that would have been cute had Miri not been worried about offending the toad youkai. "I do apologize. Rin's been here so long...I don't think she's ever seen a youkai before and she's such a curious child."

"Do manage to keep the human out of my way. My employer would not stand for her to be near," the impish toad replied angrily. He was enjoying being able to boss someone else around for once as his employer literally walked all over him when given the opportunity.

* * *

They had just finished the explanations when Kaede reentered the room carrying a tray of glasses. A small girl, the one that had interrupted them the day before - Kaede had called her Rin - followed with a plate of pastries. She looked at Sesshomaru with large brown eyes and offered him a small smile as she sat the plate down in front of him and turned, skipping out of the room. Something had excited her.

"Your presumption was correct, Ms Miyazaki," the youkai said smoothly, ignoring the child who had stopped at the door to throw another smile over her shoulder before leaving. "The thief, Onigumo did manage to complete the merge before the fire that supposedly claimed his life. He has since changed his name and his mode of operations."

"How the hell do you know?" Inuyasha questioned sending an accusing glare to his half brother. "You working with him now?"

"I make my money in a fair business, arigatou, little brother. My businesses are completely legitimate. Thankfully other countries do not hold the same outlook on gambling as my own. (A/N: according to Travel Channel gambling for money is illegal.) I do, however, have sources who have dealt with the hanyou."

"What about otou's katanas? What will you do with them now that this bastard knows where they were."

"That, little brother, is my concern." His look took on a superior expression and Kagome couldn't help but feel he had an ego complex. "I will keep them safe from Naraku, as he now calls himself. It is none of your business what I do them."

"The hell it ain't! Tetsuseiga is my sword. Otou-san left it to me."

"Hai, demo, he instructed that I should keep it safe until I deemed you prepared to take on the responsibility. I have not yet and I highly doubt that I ever will."

"Damn you, Sesshomaru."

"Now, now boys," Sango interrupted, a pleasant smile plastered to her face. "We have more things to worry about than sibling rivalry."

"Hai, Sango-chan is correct. Mr. Takahashi, you do realize that this Naraku is extremely dangerous? He has killed many people already just because they stood in his way." Kagome furrowed her brow at his unconcerned manner.

"He'll be coming after you too, you know," Inuyasha said with a slight smirk. His brother needed to fear every once in a while. But it wasn't fear that coated Sesshomaru's scent, much to his dismay. It was egocentric confidence. No one could touch Sesshomaru Takahashi.

"And I will kill him when he does," the elder youkai stated as if it were a simple fact. "Until then, however, I believe it would be in the best interest of the swords that I take them to a secure location, unreachable by Naraku."

"And where would that be?" Kagome required curiously. Maybe she should place the Shikon Pearl in the case with the swords...

"I've been planning on visiting my casino in Las Vegas - America - for quite some time now."

_Never mind_

"You ain't taking _my_ sword to America. You can take Tenseiga with you, but Tetsuseiga stays with me." Inuyasha held out his hands as if expecting his half brother to lay the sword in them.

"I do not think so, little brother. As I've said, before I will give Tetsuseiga to your care when I believe you are ready."

Kagome sighed. Could Inuyasha not get along with anyone? Even his own brother...Well, half brother. _I guess Sesshomaru wasn't to thrilled about his father marrying a human._ _That_ was an understatement. The way he looked at her and the rest of the humans in the facility conveyed his sincere disgust at their inferiority. After what happened to his parents and now his brother acting so malicious towards him, it was no wonder Inuyasha was as withdrawn as he was. And it explained the pain that hid within the golden depths of his amber eyes.

"Will you be staying here, then?" Sesshomaru's question drew her out of her thoughts.

"No."

"What's it to ya?"

She and Inuyasha answered simultaneously. He gave her a blank look, blinking several times before he frowned angrily. "What do ya mean, no? Where are we gonna go?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, but we can't stay at the facility. If we stay the kids will be in danger. He was gonna kill me that night. He won't hesitate to hurt them and these children have enough problems already." Sango and Miroku nodded their agreement while Inuyasha's frown only deepened.

* * *

Jaken was sputtering some sort of complaint or disagreement with the powerful inu youkai when Kaede stepped outside. With a small sigh she noticed a curious little girl had hidden herself around the corner of the house and was watching the two, unaware that they could probably both guess she was there. When the white haired man turned his head slightly to look directly hat her - an annoyed warning glare if Kaede could read his features correctly - the child giggled and blushed before running back to the other kids.

"I am amazed," the older woman muttered, shock and contentment settling on her face. "That is the first sound she has uttered in six months." She glanced at the dog daemon, understanding he probably didn't care, but she was going to tell him anyway. "Her mother died several years ago, giving birth. The baby died as well. A year ago her father died of cancer. She stopped speaking that day. Made no noise at all. You'd think she'd make the perfect ward, ne? Her mother's step sister had custody, but she had a husband and kids of her own to take care of and said she didn't have the time or patience to deal with a mentally challenged mute, family or not. She left Rin with me until I could make her 'normal' but I'm afraid the child is as normal as she will become."

Sesshomaru's face remained emotionless, carved from stone, but within him swelled some emotion foreign to him, something he had never experienced and could not put a name to. For the first time in his life the great youkai was felling sympathy though he didn't know and wouldn't have admitted it if he did.

* * *

Jaken had been so annoyingly adamant when he came bursting in on their meeting, rambling about some resort in Morocco that the silver haired youkai had been distracted enough to leave the katana's case unguarded in the drawing room. Inuyasha seized the moment and expertly picked the lock with his claw.

"Inuyasha! What do you think you're doing?" Sango demanded, standing to stop him.

"I'm taking what's mine before my bastard half brother can run off with it. What do you think?" The case clicked and fell open, revealing two long swords. One looked a bit more worse for wear than the other. Instead of the glowing silver metal they had expected to see, the one was long and thin and horribly rusted, caked with what almost looked like dry blood. The hilt was wrapped in tattered black leather and just under the handle was what looked like a large tuff of silvery gray hair. The other looked cleaner, catching the sunlight on the polished blade. The handle was worn, but the leather had been oiled to keep it from cracking. When the others saw that Inuyasha reached for the rusted, battered blade, they shared similar looks of suspicion. What would anyone want with a sword that looked like _that_? The hanyou took the blade and snapped the case shut, locking it once more and then successfully hid the sword so that his brother would be none the wiser.

"Nani?" He questioned seeing their looks. "I'll clean it when Sesshomaru's gone."

"How'd it get so...ugly?" Kagome's question earned her a snarl from the boy.

"My dim wit half brother wouldn't let me near the sword so I couldn't clean it. Since he and Jaken can't touch it, it didn't get cleaned." Seeing their confused looks he smirked. "Youkai can't touch the sword. It's got a barrier that will only let someone with human blood touch it."

"A magical barrier?" Miroku looked interested now and leaned forward slightly, obviously wanting to know how this was done while the girls were only curious as to why.

Inuyasha sat up straighter, pleased at the fact that he knew something they didn't. "The sword maker who made them had a monk put a protection spell on the Tetsuseiga so that only he, the youkai who asked for it, their chosen successors, or someone with human blood could wield the sword. After all, it wouldn't do for just any old human hating youkai to be able to yield the fang of destruction, now would it?"

"Fang of destruction?" Sango raised her brow, not sure if she believed what she heard.

"Yeah. The swords were made from the fangs of the inu youkai that requested them. Tetsuseiga is the fang of destruction. Tenseiga is the healing fang. It can bring someone back from the other realm and it won't harm anyone that it slices. In battle it's useless." He chuckled. "Sesshomaru was beyond pissed when he realized which sword Otou-san gave him."

"Does it work?" Kagome asked, looking at the sword's hiding place and then at the case that still housed the other katana. "I mean, will Tenseiga really heal? And does Tetsuseiga really do what you say it does?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. It's mine and that's all that matters."

* * *

In a small cafe in the center of Osaka a dark hared young man sat taking to a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. They were a stark contradiction of one another. His hair was long, flowing to his waist in wavy black tendrils. His complexion was tanned and his eyes a rich chocolate brown. His lips were thin and pulled into an evil smirk. She, on the other hand, was short (her feet barely touched the pavement from her chair). Her hair was bright red and cut short, just below her ears, the bangs slightly longer than the back. Her eyes were bright green and her complexion was a pale porcelain. Her mouth was full and bright red with a slight smile tugging at the corners. Had it not been for the elf shaped ears, one might have simply classified her as a foreign human tourist. Her ears were the only outward sign that she was not just that.

"You understand then what you must do?" The man asked, narrowing his eyes in her direction as if trying to read her mind.

She smiled fully now. As if! She was the only one could that. "Hai, wakarimasu." She ran her finger, the nail long and painted bright red - around the rim of her teacup. "It will be an easy assignment." Her eyes lit up with hope though she tried to disguise it. "And once I've done this for you, you will keep you word, Naraku-san, and I will be free, ne?"

"Until I require your services again, hai, you will be free to do as you like. Within reason, of course," he added, his smirk returning.

The light of hope had disappeared and she looked at him with unmasked revulsion. _Damn him!_ she thought mentally berating herself for trusting him. _He gave his word!_ She briefly considered using her mental powers to persuade him otherwise or quite possibly even kill him, but quickly decided against it. With a resigned sigh, she stood and bowed. He'd kill her before she could complete the task. Her life hung precariously in his evil hands. He had created her and he could kill her with a simple squeeze of his fist. She had to turn away quickly to keep him from seeing the shimmery wetness in her green eyes and letting him know he'd won.

* * *

Varsha eyed the high brick wall and the locked gate that surrounded the estate. With so little spare land in Japan and so many depleted resources, it was amazing that the two sisters had been able to secure the property as well as they had. With a thoughtful tap to her chin with a long, thin finger, she contemplated how best to go about her entry and complete her mission. It would have to be at night, once the sun went down...Depending on the number of security guards at the gate, she could get to them fast enough to work her will on them, but with the presence of two youkai and a...She pushed her mind farther into the estate...a temperamental hanyou (he was currently throwing a fit if she judged correctly)...entry into the actual house would be far more difficult. She withdrew from her inquisition of the cohabitants of the home and took a deep breath, leg swinging arithmetically from the side of the branch on which she was perched, continuing her observation.

* * *

Sesshomaru hadn't even noticed the missing katana, much to their amazement and joy. Or perhaps he had noticed and decided not to comment on it...but that train of thought only led to mass confusion. After all of his statements about Inuyasha not being worthy enough to wield the sword he certainly wouldn't have just allowed the hanyou to steal it from him without some sort of comment...would he? It was hard to tell anything about what the inu youkai might be thinking.

"Well, whatever the case is," Kagome commented as she and Sango prepared for bed, "he didn't start a fight and for that I am thankful."

"Aa, me too. I was worried for a few minutes there that they might go all out, like American wrestlers or something."

Kagome giggled. She could picture the two in boxers, going at each other in the ring with the little monster called Jaken ringing the time bell and Miroku giving the play by play. That was just the sort of thing the hentai would do. She tried to give a serious, emotionless face when she turned to look at her friend. "I, Sesshomaru, shall vanquish you, you pathetic excuse for a youkai," she said, lowering her voice in a very bad impression of Sesshomaru.

Playing along, Sango tried to imitate Inuyasha's annoyed scowl. "Bring it on, kisama," she mocked, hand on one hip, pretending to brandish a sword in the other. "Can you smell what the hanyou is cooking!"

Both girls collapsed on the bed in a fit of giggles. If the two boys had heard what they said they would be dead for sure. Sesshomaru didn't seem to be much on humor and Inuyasha would be furious to have been berated in such a manner. Situating herself on her side of the mattress, Kagome smiled at the girl who had quickly become her best friend. "G'night, Sango-chan."

"Night, Kagome."

* * *

The night guards barely had time to register her before she had attacked. She grabbed their throats, one in each hand. Being youkai she was much stronger than they were. When she removed her hands, there were two glowing red marks on each of their necks. Needing them to get into the gate, she had not killed them. With a slight smile she touched the pendulum at the base of her throat. It also glowed a bright red. "Trance of the Cobra."

Their eyes became blank and she nodded. "Open the gates. Disarm the security codes."

As the gates opened and the last of the security codes was shut off, she touched the pendulum again and watched as the two guards fell lifelessly on the floor. Moving quickly, she had little time to play around before the youkai noticed her presence, she went at full speed to the house, breaking in effortlessly. During her observations and her simple mind touches with the other residents she had been able to discover which room belonged to the Shikon's guardress and she slipped in, making as little noise as possible.

Once in, Varsha held her breath. She had not expected to see two girls in the room. They slept with their backs to each other and it took Varsha a moment to realize which one she was after. Now she was worried. If the other girl woke she would have enough time to scream for help before she could attack and that would alert the youkai. She would never make it out.

Pushing all doubts aside, the red headed youkai moved around to the other side of the bed and reached into a small purse and pulled out a hand full of dust which she blue in Kagome's face. The girl took a deep breath as the dust tickled her nose. She jumped back and quickly exited the way she'd come.

Outside, on her way back to the gates, she once again touched the glowing red pendulum. Unfortunately for the guardress, Naraku did not want her dead just yet. He wanted her to suffer first. "Mists of Confusion."

The following scream told her that her job was complete.

* * *

Sango jolted up in bed and looked at Kagome as her face contorted with fear and she drew in another deep breath to scream once more. The entire household must have been alerted, footsteps were pounding the floor as people came to see what was wrong.

"Kagome-chan?" She shook her friend lightly. "Kagome? Wake up. It was just a nightmare. Wake up."

The girl didn't respond except to scrunch up her face as if she were in pain as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. "Kagome? Onegai, wake up. Wake up. It's not real! You're okay! I promise! Onegai, just wake up!"

What happened next sent a chill down Sango's spine.

Kagome opened her eyes, clouded and unseeing, shimmering with tears, and screamed a blood curdling death scream before beginning to shudder and openly sob. Her eyes were open, but she was still dreaming, trapped in the nightmare.

"KAEDE!" Sango herself had screamed this time, frightened at her friend's condition. "Onegai! Kaede! Come quick!"

* * *

Glossary:

Goshinboku - Sacred Tree

Ima - Now

Youkai - daemon

Inu Youkai - Dog Daemon

Hanyou - Half youkai/Half Human

Domo arigatou gozaimazu - I thank you very much

Chikosho - Damn it

Konichiwa - Hello

Onii-san - elder brother

Ano - Excuse me

Arigatou - Thank you

Otou - Father

Hai - yes

Demo - But

Wakarimasu - I understand

Daijoubou desu ka - Are you alright?

Okaa - mom

Ne - just a basic ending question word like...right? true?

Hentai - pervert

Aa - yeah

Kisama - you bastard

Onegai - please

* * *

Reviewer Comments:

MintyFresh - hehe! Here's your Sesshy and Jaken!

Yashafan1 - Well...it just wouldn't do to have them acting buddy buddy...that's not Fluffy and Inu.

BagheeraShadow - Thank you! I look forward to writing more. :)

Kirei-Kitsune - Most of the ones on the Hero in the 21st Century site are on my recomendation list. http/nexus(dot)colum(dot)edu/user/nierodzik/html/fanfic(dot)htm And if you get the chance, you should read the Hero in the 21st Century comic that Baachan wrote. It's really good too. All the ones by Moonlight Shadow and then there's one called Temple of the Dog that I like. Also, check out my Favorite Stories list on if you want more of my recommendations from this site. :) I'm glad you liked it.


	10. In Dreams

**Chapter Nine**

_Osaka, Japan_

_February, 2004

* * *

_

_Blood. There was so much blood. She took a step back and slipped. Catching her balance she looked down and felt her stomach turn when she realized the bottom of her tennis shoes were covered in the sticky substance. She gasped and her senses were assaulted by the putrid smell of it. She couldn't help it. She screamed even though it would alert who ever had done that to where she was. Her eyes closed as hot tears rolled down her cheeks. When they opened again the sigh was still there, haunting her. _

_My friends..._

_Sango, Miroku, Kikyo, Kaede...they lay in heaps around her. None of them moved. They were gone. They were dead._

_They died for me...

* * *

_

Sango scrambled off the bed as Kaede and Miroku came running in. "I don't know what happened. We were asleep and all of a sudden she started whimpering and then she screamed," she told them, trying to keep her own shattered nerves calm. "It was like the other day in the dorm. You remember, Miroku."

Kaede leaned over Kagome's shivering form. The girl's eyes were open, but were unseeing as she trembled and kicked her legs as if she were trying to get away from something. "This happened before?"

"Hai," Miroku answered. "At the beginning of this month when she first moved in with Sango-chan. She started screaming and woke both floors."

"Demo," Sango added, "it wasn't quite so bad as this. She screamed, but she woke up. That's when she told us about her otou and being here and everything."

"Oh, Kagome." The elder woman sighed and shook her head. Kagome was her shining star, her prime example in all of her research. Kagome was the one that she spoke about whenever she wrote a research article or brought new patients to the retreat. The girl had been so lively and ready to embrace life. "She was afraid something like this might happen, but what was the catalyst? She seemed to be dealing with the knowledge that the thief was after her again..." The woman seemed to be speaking to herself as she tucked the blanket closer around Kagome and put a hand to her forehead trying to calm her.

* * *

_There was a noise from the other room._

_Wait. Room? _

_For the first time, Kagome seemed to be aware of something other than the bodies of her friends and took note of her surroundings. They were in a living room of some sort. There was a fireplace and a couch and a bookshelf. This wasn't the retreat. This was some place she'd never been before. _

_No time to think about it. _He_ was coming. She turned around and ran out of the room, catching a glimpse of the shadowed form and the bright red glowing eyes. Throwing the door open she ran as fast as she could down the path from the house to the woods. Once inside the line of trees, things seemed to get familiar and her body took paths her mind only barely recognized until she came to something that she did recognize. Something that was familiar. Much too familiar._

_Taller than any other tree, the Goshinboku literally reached for the heavens. It would take four of her to reach around it completely and the hole in the front that had served as her front door was still there. _

_I'll be safe in the Goshinboku, just like jii-chan said..._

_But he was there too. He stood between her and her sanctuary. And he was laughing.

* * *

_

Kagome screamed again and Sango cringed, stroking her friend's raven locks in an attempt to soothe her. Miroku sat on the bed next to her and put his hand on Sango's shoulder. "Kagome is strong," he assured her quietly. "She'll come back out of this."

Sango nodded stiffly. "Kami...Miroku, I hope you're right about that."

The door opened and the three occupants turned to see who had intruded and mentally winced to see the white haired youkai, Sesshomaru standing in the door with boxers and a dark blue robe the only things covering his built form. "What is the meaning of this?"

Sesshomaru merely glared down his nose at the humans who stared at him so openly. A light pink blush tinged the bridge of Sango's nose and she turned her head away, concentrating on the well being of her best friend, but didn't miss the way that every muscle in Miroku's upper body tensed when he saw her reaction to the inu youkai's disheveled appearance.

"Why was my sleep disturbed?" He questioned sourly.

"It is just a nightmare. Nothing to worry yourself over, Mr. Takahashi," Kaede assured him, standing. He ignored her and leaned over the bed, looking at the dark haired woman who lay there. He sniffed audibly and turned those cold golden eyes to the doctor.

"Not simply a nightmare. There was a youkai in here, foreign from the scents of the rest of your staff that litter this place. If you wish for her to live to see the next sunrise, I suggest that you wake her soon." With that said, he turned and walked out of the room, loose silk robe billowing slightly behind him.

Sango frowned. "Dr. Ten'nou -" She was cut short by the sound of a crash and broken glass from the room down the hall. Kaede hurried towards it, met by two other nurses in the hall who had also heard the sound and thought it came from one of the children's rooms. It had, instead, come from the hanyou's room.

* * *

_Where the hell was he? He looked around the scenery as it changed from one thing to another. He had been standing inside of an eerily familiar cavern only to turn and see that it wasn't a cavern, but a cabin bedroom. The sound of movement from the next room brought him out of his thoughts and he tilted his head slightly, ears swiveling to pick up another sound to pick up the least bit of noise. There was someone crying up ahead...but as he stepped towards the door to see who it was, the scene changed again. This time he was standing in a forest that seemed vaguely familiar to his senses. _

_But he didn't dwell on that fact to long because there was someone coming. He heard a twig snap and turned towards the sound. This may have been a dream or a memory or something, but whatever it was, he was unable to use his nose to locate the enemy._

_And then she as there, a blur of gray and black before she came crashing into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground. He gripped her arms to push her off of him and growled when her hair tickled his chest. Her eyes opened wide, surprised he supposed, to see that there was someone else there when she thought she had been alone.

* * *

_

Kagome's body seemed to go limp and relax, her clouded blue eyes drifted shut and Sango gave a sigh of relief, thinking her friend had come out of the nightmare and had gone back to a normal sleep. Feeling exhausted herself...it _was_ nearly two in the morning...she yawned and leaned against Miroku's arm, lying her head on his shoulder.

He turned his head quickly to look down at her, confused at her behavior. She usually yelled at him, slapped him, or threw not-so-dangerous objects at him...she had _never_ lain on him before. Not that he was going to complain...it was just a shock to see her so relaxed and comfortable around him. Okay, so, truthfully, that _was_ his fault. He had an uncommon knack for getting into trouble with women and had a roaming hand that he just didn't seem to be able to control. He had, admittedly, fondly fondled Sango's backside a few times in the past and received his punishment for it, but he really did see her in a different light than the rest of the girls he was around. She was the only girl he had ever managed to maintain a friendship with except Kagome and he'd known Sango longer. He had never pressed her for more than just a friendship...didn't even really press her for that. _She_ had given that_ willingly_. He had never attempted to act on any of his ideas other than a slight caress every now and again just to keep her on her toes...and her bottom (a/n: I'm running out of supplemental words for the bum) was firm and round...very much to his liking.

With a mental shove, he forced himself off that train of thought. It was late, they were both tired and worried and they had just spent a few minutes living the hell that had been Kagome's life after her father's death...or rather, her family's life after her father's death. Kagome's life had been far different. Her hell had been self constructed. They could not experience _her_ nightmare.

Sango had closed her eyes and taken a few deep breaths, calming her nerves to a point where she could enjoy the comfort beside her, the softness of Miroku's terry cloth robe and the feel of his modestly firm biceps beneath it. The weather, while warming, was still chilly and she wore only a light blue tank and dark blue boxers and chill bumps had spread along her bare arms, but the warmth of his body so close to her was nice. Who knew body heat could be so welcoming? And his hands were no where near her! Was this progress? Was she finally getting somewhere? _Kami, I hope so._ She was so tired of waiting for him to come around and begin to act like the gentleman she knew he was capable of being.

It was a tender scene for the two med students, really. It would have been even better had Kaede not picked that moment to walk back in. Sango's eyes flew open and she abruptly sat up, stiff as a board. Miroku bit back a groan and held his tongue to keep from speaking aloud the not-so-nice comment he was ready to give the old woman. He was finally getting somewhere and she had to ruin it!

"That was Inuyasha's room the noise came from," the aging doctor told them softly. "He seemed to be in a state similar to Kagome's and managed to knock the lamp off of the bedside table." She looked down at the now peaceful Kagome and frowned, her brows knitting in confusion. "It's almost as if they were experiencing the same thing." She was muttering, just barely loud enough for them to hear her as she shook her head. "But that's impossible...however, Kagome _did _say...but no...that would be impossible...masaka..."

"Dr. Ten'nou," Miroku interrupted, "how many youkai work at this retreat? Would any of them have any reason to be in this room recently."

"There are several, but none that would have been in here since before the four of you arrived and Mr. Takahashi said that the scent would have been lain only minutes before Kagome's terrors started. I don't know how anyone could get on these grounds. The security is impeccable. It would be practically impossible."

"Not for everyone," Sango muttered. "I'll bet someone really desperate could come up with a way to get in."

* * *

_"Inuyasha..." Kagome breathed trying to catch her breath from the exertion she had had to exhibit to get away from the creature that hunted her. "Inuyasha! Nani? How...what are you doing here? This is a dream? Why are you in my dream?"_

_He lay his ears back slightly at the high pitched squeal of her voice. "I don't know, wench! But I'd better find out quick or one of us won't be making it out of here alive." He growled the last part menacingly._

_"Oh, don't you dare threaten me. I don't even know how _I_ ended up back in the Sacred Forest. How am I supposed to know how _you_ got here?" She retorted, matching his anger and irritation exactly._

_"Sacred Forest? How do you know what this place is called?"_

_She stood up and brushed the dirt from the back of her gray plaid boxer shorts. "I only lived in it for three years. Or rather, in the Goshinboku, but the Goshinboku is in the Sacred Forest. Well...according to jii-chan it is anyway..." She trailed off silently following that thought process, trying to recall the stories of the Sacred Forest and the enchanted spirit that lived within the Goshinboku and kept the forest and the shrine safe. _

_"Goshinboku?" He repeated...that name...why did it sound so familiar?_

_"Hai, the Goshinboku. It's where I stayed during my 'sleep'. I hid in the tree because the Red Eyes couldn't get me there."

* * *

_

"Inu...yasha..."

Sango frowned hearing the girl breath the hanyou's name. Miroku furrowed his brow. After what Kaede had said about Inuyasha being in the same state as their friend, hearing her say his name had only added to their curiosity.

Sango bit her lip in thought. She had read some of the reports and articles in the medical journals concerning catatonic stasis, the topic interested her. Some said that they believed that during the 'coma' the patients were tapping into the normally unused portion of their brain, the portion that some experts believed could hold the ability to communicate through telepathy or to see and hear things that were not on the normal plane. Could it be...no...it was just some scientist's silly hypothesis...it couldn't be true...could it?

* * *

_"Stop screaming!" Inuyasha yelled, getting more and more agitated by the second._

_"I'll stop screaming when I can get out of here and back into the real world! I'll get out of here when that creepy, red-eyed freak decides to leave me the hell alone!" Kagome yelled back, hands clenched in fists at her side._

_"Chikosho! Stop crying already! It's getting irritating!" He hated it, but couldn't figure out why. The sight of her flushed face, glistening wet cheeks, the sound of her quiet sobs...they were all starting to grate on him._

_"I'll stop when I get ready! You're the one that intruded on my dream you know!"_

_"I wouldn't be here if you hadn't pulled me here, wench!"_

_Both hanyou and girl stopped, identical expressions of confusion, shock and awe flashing through their features. It was as if the occupants had finally come home and switched on the light bulbs for the two. _This_ was getting creepy. "Pulled you here? I...I...how? I haven't...I didn't...Only...He..." She couldn't seem to form a complete sentence in her mind. All of her thoughts were grumbling together in a hyperactive spin cycle that never seemed to come to an end. "That's what...what he said...I did...before..."_

_"You...the Goshinboku...pulling me into your dream..." Inuyasha shook his head, his brow creasing in realization. "I should have figured it out earlier, but..."_

_She had pulled him into her world the last time when her need to be free of the forest and the confined space of the Goshinboku...the need to see her family...to continue with her life, had become too much for her. She had been too afraid to go though she wanted to so badly, so he had given up his only light and offered to help her back into the reality of the world. He would fight off the red eyes while she ran._

_It had worked. She had, somehow, managed to successfully pull him from his dark cavern into the sunny and colorful forest of her creation. Some legend her old jii-chan had told her once. He hadn't seen the red eyed monster, but she said it was there and so he attacked it and held it off until she was gone..._

_Once when he was a child, his mother had bought him a package of side-walk chalk and he had spent most of the morning in the driveway, drawing on the black pavement. When he'd finally finished his creation he had stood back, proudly admiring his work, and couldn't wait for his father to come home so he could show it off to him. Unfortunately, it had rained before he got the chance and he had stood in the down pour, tears cascading down his chubby cheeks, as the drops had washed away what he had worked so hard to create. The colors had run together into a smeared mess before finally washing away into nothingness. _

_It had been like that when she left the sacred forest. It was as if he had jumped into a sidewalk drawing, like in a movie he had seen once, and the rain was had washing his world away until he was once again standing in the cavern of his cave. Only this time, his light was gone._

_Kagome's scream drew him from his thoughts and he jumped, coming back to the present, if not reality itself. She was pointing behind him and he turned to see what had scared her. For the first time, he met his enemy face to face. An unidentifiable shadow emerged from his right. The only feature distinguishable in his smoky personage were the two glowing red eyes.

* * *

_

Their relief was short lived as Kagome drew in a deep breath and screamed once more. Sango sat up straight, dark eyes shooting open while Miroku's violet ones swirled with a mixture of disappointment and worry. Sango brushed the hair from Kagome's forehead and made soft shushing noises. When her brother had been little, she had done the same thing to him when he'd had bad dreams.

Miroku took Kagome's hand in his again and gently started massaging the back of it with his thumb. It was the best he could do. He had been the only child and so had no experience in comforting a frightened sibling and he had never been close enough to a girl in an unromantic sense to know how to act.

"Dr Ten'nou!" One of the nurses from Inuyasha's room called in a panicked voice. Kaede looked at the three young adults and, deciding that Kagome was in good enough hands for the moment, hurried towards the hanyou's room. Sesshomaru stood against a far wall, looking at his brother's writhing form with an uncaring air. She had the younger of the two nurses escort him out of the room and into the hallway. The dark aura coming from him was not helping her patient any.

The elder of the nurses had prepared a sedative in case the worst was to happen and they were unable to calm Kagome and Inuyasha from by other means. Their screams and fighting was starting to disturb the rest of the house and they had other patients, younger and in worse condition, to be concerned over.

* * *

_Kagome fell to her bottom on the ground as Inuyasha pushed her behind him, effectively cutting off her screaming. "No...no...no..."_

_Inuyasha's grin was wicked. "So, kisama, you finally decided to fight me? Then come on!" He cracked his knuckles waiting for the thing to come out of the shadows and in a close enough range for him to attack. _

_"Inuyasha! Iie!" Kagome had scrambled to her feet and grabbed his arm. Her fear was obvious even despite his lack of scent. "Inuyasha, if you do this here...now...if something happens to you here...you may be stuck here forever."_

_He shifted his glare to her. "You created this place. You created him. Make him weak enough that I can just kill him. Then we can both get out of here."_

_She shook her head vehemently. "Iie...I know he's part of my creation. I know that, but I can't control it...him. I want to, but I can't...I just can't!"_

_"Then how are we gonna get outta here!"_

_"I don't' know!" She was starting to feel desperate. She wanted to go back. She didn't want to be stuck in this place again. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!" Her eyes were squeezed shut as panic once again began to set in.

* * *

_

Violet colored light surrounded Kagome's body and then dimmed, disappearing. Slowly, as if coming out of a deep sleep, Kagome's steel blue eyes began to flutter open and she found herself staring into the faces of her two friends. I'm back...I got out...I don't know how I did it, but I did...

Sango drew her friend into a hug as the girl woke up. Kagome was crying in relief. "Kami-sama I was so scared, Sango-chan. I thought...I was back in the forest and that thing was after me and...Sango-chan! I was so afraid! Inuyasha was going to fight that thing, but I couldn't control it. I should have been able too, but I couldn't. I knew if he got into a fight with it and got hurt he might not wake up again...he'd have been stuck there or even killed!" She shook her head and buried her face in Sango's shoulder. "He'd have been stuck there, reliving that same nightmare over and over again and I didn't want that to happen. I don't know how I got us out, I just remember fading away..."

Miroku couldn't help but grin, relief taking priority over the concern for now. "You shouldn't worry about not possessing the miko powers of your bloodline any more, Kagome-chan. You just proved that they do exist."

"You were glowing!" Sango exclaimed, shocked at what she had seen. "You glowed purple just before you woke up!"

"Glowing?" Kagome frowned, confusion written all over her face, but before she could say more her bedroom door was slung open.

"What the hell were you thinking you stupid bitch?" An angry treble reached her ears and she looked over to see a fuming silver haired hanyou. "I'm not some damn shield you can just yank into your fucking nightmares! I have enough problems of my own without having to deal with yours - and what the hell is that smell?" He visibly sniffed the air, as Sesshomaru had done earlier, and knelt down on the other side of Kagome from where Miroku and Sango sat, touching something with his fingers. A red powder collected on the pad of his index finger and he sniffed at it, recognizing a few of the ground herbs, ones known to cause hallucinations and delusions. "What's this?"

Kagome blinked, trying to keep up with his rapidly changing moods. "I don't know...I haven't seen it before. It wasn't there earlier and I haven't used anything that had red powder to it." She shook her head. She'd just woken up from a horror she hadn't faced since she was a child...they couldn't possibly expect her brain to be working at full throttle just yet.

"Your brother said that there was a foreign scent in here. One not associated with the staff," Miroku told them wondering if that might have something to do with the powder. "He claimed it was a youkai. Perhaps some daemon was able to sneak past the security and get into the house undetected...then that youkai could have been the one to leave the powder and the powder may have had something to do with the trance Kagome was in."

Inuyasha snarled, his upper lip drawing back to reveal a glistening fang. "What would you be willing to bet Onigumo, or what ever he's calling himself these days, is behind this."

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh Kami-sama, no. When I suggested that we leave before it was only a precaution. I never really thought that someone could get into the house, but now..." She shook her head. "Kami! The kids...if we stay here they'll really be in danger. We've got to leave as soon as possible."

"I ain't gonna argue." The hanyou had no qualms about leaving that place as soon as possible. he'd never wanted to go in the first place, but at least now he knew why he'd been compelled to follow and why it had only seemed natural to save her the other day at the soccer game or to protect her from the red-eyed shadow in her dream. Her voice, her presence, had been his light. It had been the one thing that kept him warm and gave him comfort in the dark and secluded cavern of his cave. When she had gone and taken his light with her, he had succumbed to the darkness and the loneliness, but now his light was back and he was determined to keep it shining.

"Uh, that's great and all, but where are we gonna go?" Sango brought them all crashing to the reality of the situation. They really did have now where _to_ go. If they went back to their families, they would be putting the people they loved in danger. If they stayed at the retreat they'd be putting the children in danger. They were college students with part time jobs that earned them just enough to pay for school supplies, groceries and the occasional outing to the movie or a club. They couldn't afford to stay in some hotel for any extended period of time.

Unbeknownst to all of them save Inuyasha, who had been growling under his breath for the past few minutes, Sesshomaru was standing in the doorway listening to them. As they all contemplated what their choices were, he stepped forward. the bed. "Our father owned a cabin in the mountains. It has not been used for some years, but should do well enough for a short time. I will even provide you with the transportation necessary to get to the cabin. It should keep this Naraku from catching my trail too soon, long enough for me to be on a plane out of the country with Otou-san's katanas." He turned without waiting for a reply and started back to his room to order the toad youkai to get on the phone and start finding them a ride out of this disgusting, human infested, building.

Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha watched him walk off, shocked at what they had just witnessed. They then looked at each other and contemplated on the appropriate comment for such behavior. Kagome was the first to recover and just shook her head. "Who'd have thought he was actually going to help us do something."

Sango nodded. "Even something as small as this."

"Feh." Inuyasha stood. "Get some sleep. My brother's probably sending us to some shack that's been falling down for years. Don't expect him to do anything beneficial for any of us."

"Perhaps, Kagome-chan, Sango-chan," Miroku started smoothly, "I should share your room for the night. Just to be sure that you are both safe from any more intruding daemons, I mean." He glanced around the room. "There is little room for a cot or another so that I would have to sleep between the covers with the both of you to keep you safe, but..."

**Smack!**

Sango shook her hand a few times to try and rid herself of the stinging sensation left after having slapping the fire out of the young man. "We'll be fine. I suggest you and Inuyasha go back to your own rooms." The glare she gave the dark haired man promised much pain if he continued in his actions.

He shrugged and crawled off the bed. "Oyasumi nasai then." He gave them all a charming smile and left the rest of them.

Sango too started to climb off of the bed. "Would you like something Kagome-chan? I'm going to get something to drink." Kagome nodded, she hadn't realized how parched and raw her throat seemed after screaming so much.

"Some tea should help you both to calm your nerves. Sango and I will return in a moment. Would you like tea also, Inuyasha? Or perhaps something else?" At the doctor's question, Inuyasha shook his head. Kaede and Sango went out, shutting the door behind them.

Inuyasha started to leave also, but Kagome grabbed his wrist before he could leave the bedside. "Inuyasha, gomen ne, I never got to say anything before, but I want to say something now. Inuyasha, domo arigatou gozaimazu. I don't know that I would have been able to leave that nightmare had it not been for you...I might have been stuck again, reliving that terror."

"It ain't like I had much choice," he said roughly.

She lowered her head, studying the cream colored bedspread, idly picking at a piece of broken thread in the quilted seam. Her other hand fell from his wrist. "I know and honto ni sumimasen, but it was something that I couldn't help. Please understand that I didn't do it intentionally...it just sort of happened." She still didn't look at him. "But that wasn't everything. I wasn't just trying to thank you for tonight. I want to thank you for helping me back then too...you know...before when I was at the retreat as a child. You were the voice that I heard. It was because of you that I was able to leave the Sacred Forest and come home. I want to thank you for helping me, but I also want to say that I'm sorry because...because I should have tried to bring you with me. Maybe...maybe if I had you wouldn't...you wouldn't think that your return was a mistake. Maybe...maybe I could have helped you." A deep blush was creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks until even her ears were tinged with pink. That hadn't come out the way she had wanted it to. Her thoughts were a jumble in her mind and she couldn't seem to focus enough to process her thoughts and express them in coherent ways.

Inuyasha was in a state of speechlessness. He didn't know what to say to her gratitude or her remorse. It had never occurred to him to be angry with his light for leaving him. He had simply accepted the fact that he didn't deserve the warmth it offered, that he was destined for cold solitude. He had been angry with Kaede for not letting him have that solitude, for wrenching him from the cavern and the eternal darkness he knew would consume him if he just stayed in that cave long enough, but never had he blamed his light. _You sound like a fucking lunatic_, he scolded himself mentally for the process his thoughts had taken on. _You're referring to a damn ningen as the light. Her name is Kagome and she's not your light, she's just some stupid ningen girl who babbles on about meaningless stuff when she should be studying her chemistry notes._

But he couldn't leave her like that either. "What happened back then doesn't matter. That it's still here now is the problem. I'll tell you this: If you plan to live through this, you better stop letting fear control you. Otherwise you'd might as well hand over that stupid necklace and bare your throat to Naraku."

Her head flew up as she looked at him, steel blue meeting gold. Was that his way of accepting her thanks and her apology, of saying he forgave her for tonight's episode?

She didn't have long to consider it because the door opened again and Kaede entered the room with Sango close behind, the younger girl carrying a tray topped with tea cups and a kettle. Inuyasha didn't give her a chance to say anything more before leaving the room.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I got sick and then I got writers block...I'm not used to writing in chronological order. When I wrote _Time of Our Lives_ I would have an idea and I'd write it and then I'd have another idea and write it, even if it didn't fit with the first thing, they all seemed to have something in common and then I just copied and pasted each segment in an order that fit and separated it to chapters. :) Anyway, I wanted to try and make this chapter a little longer and a little bit fluffier. Eh...I think I'm going a little ooc, but I'm trying to keep it as close to the original characters as possible. It's just really, really difficult when Sesshomaru's involved. He's so damn hard to write for!

* * *

Glossary

Hai - yes

Demo - but

Goshinboku - God Tree

Kami - god

Youkai - daemon

Inu - dog

Masaka - impossible

Nani - what?

Jii-chan - grandpa

Chikosho - damn it

Kisama - You bastard/bitch

Iie - no

Hanyou - half daemon/half human

Otou - father

Katana - Sword

Oyasumi nasai - Goodnight

Gomen ne - Sorry

Domo arigatou gozaimazu - I thank you very much

Honto ni sumimasen - I'm really sorry

Ningen - human

Reviewer Comments

Kirei-Kitsune - You're welcome. I hope you enjoy them.

* * *

LukeShaelh - Thank you, I appreciate any and all constructive criticism. If you tell me what's confusing I can try and clear it up. As for being unrealistic...well, there's not much I can do there. I mean...it's Inuyasha...it's kinda hard to make it very realistic when you got someone with dog ears and fangs walking around. :)

Yashafan1 - Thanks! I hope I can do more with Varsha. I worked really hard on her character. I'm definitely going to try and squeeze her into the plot some more. And Kagura's gonna show up too! I'm gonna see if I can't squeeze some Kagura/Sesshomaru interaction out into my fic. :) I really, really liked them as a couple. And you're right - burnt toast! teeheee!

MintyFresh - I hoped you'd be pleased! A? I didn't even get those in school! ((does a happy dance))

Darkangelloveskouga - I'm trying! I'm typing so fast these days that my keyboard started smoking and I had to start keeping a fire extinguisher next to my desk. ((giggles))

Sara - Didn't think you'd get a comment, did you? Ha! Proved you wrong! I am gonna comment even though you haven't put a review on the site. And I am not mean! I'm just wickedly devious. ((teases hair to hide her horns beneath her curls)) I am perfectly innocent, you know. ((straightens halo)).

And a special thanks to Yashafan1, Kirei-Kitsune, Punkgoddess, Eartha, Sara, and MintyFresh. I love loyal reviewers! Thanks so much for your input! Inu plushies for all! ((throws out Inu plushie dolls like beads at marti gras))


	11. Cabins & Casinos

**Chapter Ten**

_Rainbow Valley Retreat Facility_

_March 2004

* * *

_

Just as the sun's first rays of light were starting to streak through the heavy clouds of the day's dawn, the distinctive reverberations of a helicopter could be made out by both youkai and human hears. The sounds were coming closer to the retreat until they hovered just above. Children and pre-teens, those that had enough of their wits about them, scrambled from their beds to the windows to see what was going on. What they found was one raven black chopper coming to land in the expansive front yard of the retreat while six shadowed figures moved around like hurried little ants.

Below, at the front of the house Kagome shrugged hefted her duffle bag into her hands. "Sayonara, Kaede-san. I'll call you as soon as it's safe, I promise. Onegai, be careful," she embraced the older woman tightly. "Arigatou, for everything."

Sango and Miroku were already in the helicopter, fastening their seatbelts. Inuyasha had one leg propped up on the floor of the chopper, but had turned around to see what was taking Kagome so long. He threw his own duffle bag in the cockpit and growled. "Hurry up wench, lets go!"

Kagome unconsciously clenched her hand into a fist, mentally picturing him falling flat on his face into the ground with a hard 'thunk'. He'd deserve it for the attitude he'd given them since she woke up. "Gomen ne, Kaede-san, demo I really have to go."

The doctor put a hand on Kagome's arm. "Matte kudasai, child. I have something for you." She pressed a cold, metal object into Kagome's free hand, shaking her head as the girl gasped having seen it looked like a small pistol. "It is a miko's gun and it was Kikyo-nee-chan's weapon. It draws the miko powers from you and uses them to add a purifying energy to the bullet. It is no regular weapon. Only a miko such as yourself could use it."

"Demo...I'm not a miko."

"Your display earlier proves you otherwise. I've sensed the dormant powers within you as did Kikyo. She had even commented before that she wished to train you when you were older."

Kagome finally nodded and with a last hug, ran for the chopper. Inuyasha climbed in behind her and slid the door closed, jostling her slightly when the aircraft rose before they could get buckled in. Everyone was quiet. Miroku had his eyes closed, his head rested against the leather seat back. Sango also had her eyes closed, but as the chopper rose and turned, switching directions, she fell sideways, her head coming to rest on Miroku's shoulder and staying there as she drifted to sleep.

Kagome on the other hand studied the weapon in her hand, turning it over twice before dropping it into her duffle bag. She was a miko. Well, it would certainly add to her list of career options. Because of their healing abilities, a properly trained miko could enter just about any medical field with little to no trouble. They were skilled in purification and when that training was combined with police training, they were highly sought after recruits into the police force, used in dealings with youkai and hanyou criminals. Still some mikos preferred a more traditional line of work and became employed by shrines all over Japan. Adding the title of miko to her resume would be enough to impress even the stiffest psychological institute and would be a sure fire way to secure her position of choice.

Exhaustion swept over her in an unexpected wave and she put her hand to her mouth to suppress a yawn. "How far is it to the cabin?" She asked of Inuyasha.

Guessing her meaning, he shrugged. "Long enough for you to get a short nap, I suppose."

With a nod she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Wake me when we get there, 'kay?"

"Feh."

* * *

Just after the first chopper had become nothing more than a black dot in the sky a second appeared and landed in its place. The reserved inu youkai breezed out of the retreat's front door followed by a blabbering Jaken and a very silent and yet clearly upset ningen girl. "Dr. Ten'nou, if you would kindly subdue your patient?" Sesshomaru requested with a glance at the girl. She had stumbled upon him in the hall on his way out and had been following at his heels, making slight whimpering noises in the back of her throat since then. At the moment, however, she was glaring at him with a look similar to one he gave his half brother on occasions.

Kaede nodded and wrapped her arms around the child. "Rin has taken quite a liking to you, Mr. Takahashi. When she forms them, her bonds are very strong and she fears loosing those she's bonded too." Her gaze fell to the top of the dark haired head. "But we are working on that, aren't we Rin-chan?" The little girl only whimpered again and reached out a hand to the formidable youkai.

Sesshomaru looked down at her, his thoughts unreadable. Jaken bristled. "Sir, we should get going. The plane will be waiting for us when we get to the airport," he said, sounding stressed. "The longer we stay in Japan the more peril your katanas are in!"

The inu youkai shushed him with a mere kick of his foot, sending the toad youkai flying across the yard to land with a thud just in front of the chopper. His hand raised to the pocket of his suit jacket and lifted a blue and red silk handkerchief which he handed to the girl. The girl grasped onto it with both hands. Her eyes spoke the gratitude her voice could not and he simply nodded, turning his back to her and went to the chopper, leaving Jaken stumbling over sentences trying to figure out the reasoning between his employer's actions.

* * *

A young woman with black hair pulled up in a tight bun stood on a tree branch watching the two helicopters descend and leave with the group. She frowned and pulled out a cell phone, dialing as quickly as possible. (A/N: Yep, no Saimyoushou here. These modern day youkai use cell phones!) "Naraku-san, it's Kagura. They've left the retreat. The girl and her friends headed in one direction, the inu youkai and his toad in the other."

"Follow the inu youkai and take his katanas. I'll deal with the girl."

She closed the phone and dropped it back into her pants pocket, taking a feather from her head. As she dropped it, it grew in size and hovered in front of her. Jumping on she guided it so that it followed the second helicopter at a not-so-obvious distance..

* * *

_Somewhere in the Mountains_

_Japan

* * *

_

_Darkness surrounded her. She was running. A flash of light and she could see blood. _

_No, but there was darkness again._

_She ran faster. A flash of light and she came to a stop. Inuyasha stood several yards ahead of her, his back to her. Then she couldn't see him for a few minutes till another flash of light illuminated the area. Something shot out of the darkness and embedded itself in his heart. _

_NO! _

_When the light flashed again he had fallen in a crumpled heap on the ground.

* * *

_

Kagome woke with a start to find her head pillowed on something soft and firm. At some point during the flight she'd slid to the side until her head rested on the hanyou's arm. She sat up and stretched, blushing slightly. "Gomen...I didn't realize..."

"Feh, don't worry about it. We're here."

Sure enough the chopper was descending into a clearing. Miroku and Sango drifted awake slowly and looked around. The inu hanyou led them from the chopper which had landed in a clearing and waited just long enough for them to grab their bags before heading off towards a path through the trees. The piglet waited until they were a safe enough distance away and then lifted back into the air.

They walked single file, Miroku behind Inuyasha to keep him from being tempted to grope the girls rumps, then Sango and Kagome bringing up the rear. Each one kept close watch of their surroundings, wanting to memorize the trail back, just in case, though none thought they might need it. The place was much to secluded to be found.

"Inuyasha? What's that?" To their right and down another little pathway was a small building, looking to be only about two room big. It was done in the traditional Asian style with dark wood planks, black roof with curved edge to it and bright red trim. The tiles of the roof looked to be made out of clay and the front door was painted with bright red lacquer.

"It's a shrine. My great great great great grandfather built it when he built the cabin. It houses part of the remains of the first Inutaishou, my ancestor and the one who ordered that the two fangs be forged."

"Part of his remains? Where's the rest?" Miroku asked curiously.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Somewhere. Probably buried in some old tomb or something, likely to become some archeologists big break. According to Oijii-san, the first Inutaishou was too large to be burned on a funeral pier so they improvised and his skeletal remains were too large to be housed in a family shrine so they improvised and took only a part of it for the shrine. The first shrine was at the family estate, but as time went on and children started arguing over the property and it eventually got should, they had to improvise and transferred the shrine here."

That had piqued Kagome's interest. The skeletal remains were too large to be housed in the shrine? Too large to even been burned? How big was this guy?

"Big." Inuyasha seemed to sense her unspoken question and looked over his shoulder at her. "So large, in fact, that the only remains left in the building was his skull and even that had to be magicked down so that it would fit in the building. It is still rather large though."

"Will you show me later?"

He made a face. That interested her? "Doshite?"

She shrugged. "I'm just curious to know about this larger than life skeleton...and to see if you resemble your oijii-san in anyway." She grinned on the last part while he just glared and turned his back towards her again.

The cabin, it turned out, was a wood slatted structure, the wood stained a dark almost black color. The roof pointed and curved out in a traditional style with black clay tiles, accented with red clay tiles on the edges. The door was heavy wood, painted with bright red lacquer. It was like a larger version of the shrine they had seen some time back. Inside was a different matter. The interior walls were fusama with shoji to separate the rooms from each other. There were really only five rooms it looked like...Kagome only counted five doors including the one they entered through which had opened into a very spacious room, traditional in structure but filled with modern amenities such as a television, a radio, couch and chairs, and writing desk. To their left, tucked in a nook was a stove, sink and refrigerator and an eating area with a low table surrounded by floor cushions. Cabinets held non perishables items and eating utensils, she supposed. In another little nook was situated a washer and dryer. On either side of them were two shoji which opened up into another room which housed another shoji that was slid shut.

"There's two bedrooms and each bedroom has a bathroom. Everything else is in here," Inuyasha explained. He carried the extra bag with their supplies to the kitchen and sat it on the counter.

"Perhaps we should draw straws to see who shares with who?" Miroku suggested. Sango grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be the TV remote, and smacked him on the head.

"The girls will be in one room and we'll be in another." The hanyou left no room for argument. "We'll be in a the room to the left. It's got bunk beds from when Sesshomaru and I had to stay here with our parents. The girls can have the master bedroom to the right. It's only got a single bed, but it's large. That alright?"

Sango nodded. "We've been sharing anyway. No need to complain now...even if Kagome-chan does hog the covers..."

"And far be it from me to say anything about Sango-chan's snoring..." Kagome giggled.

The brown haired girl turned red. "I do not!"

"Sure, whatever you say, Sango-chan."

* * *

_Western Lands Casino_

_Morocco

* * *

_

Kagura, dressed in a short red halter dress and red strapped heels approached the front desk of the Western Lands Casino owned by none other than Sesshomaru Takahashi, lord of the Western Lands gambling chain. She smiled sweetly at the receptionist and handed her a small white card. "I'm here to talk to Sesshomaru Takahashi. I heard that he was staying in this casino."

"Mr. Takahashi has requested not to be disturbed by anyone, ma'am," a short blonde man answered looking more than a little nervous. "I'm sorry, you will just have to talk to his secretary and make an appointment."

Kagura resisted the urge to threaten the human. _He is only doing his job, no different than you._ "I assure you that he will see me. You need only mention the name on the card."

The young man gave the card a wary look and finally shrugged, going off to a back room to buzz the inu youkai. He returned a few minutes later with an even younger young man with dark curly hair. "Ralf will show you to Mr. Takahashi's door. "

The wind youkai gave him a smug I-told-you-so smile and walked off following the curly haired boy to the elevators which lead to the private pent-house suite. "Just knock on the door and Mr. Jaken will let you in. If you need anything just give me a ring, ma'am."

It was unnerving how those humans kept calling her that. Did she really look that old? The woman frowned at that thought. Sure, her appearance was older than her sisters, Varsha and Kanna, but she didn't think that she appeared to be that much older. "Arigatou gozaimazu." When the boy's brow furrowed in confusion she sighed a deep sigh of disgust. The owner of their casino was Japanese, one would think that the employees would be required to be at least bilingual. "Thank you, young man." He nodded, understanding finally, and hurried back to the elevator, leaving her alone in the short entry hall. _Society is much to nice these days .It would be so much easier to just unleash my Dance of the Dragon and rip the Tenseiga from his dead fingers,_ she thought as she lifted one hand to knock on the door.

Before her knuckles could connect with the cream colored wood, however, the door was opened to reveal a very tall, very lean, very handsome white haired man who stared down his nose at her with unrevealing golden eyes. Where was the short little toad that she had seen with Sesshomaru..._This_ was Sesshomaru! She hadn't been able to get a good luck at him until then.

Personally, she liked what she saw.

"Mr. Takahashi, I presume?"

"You are correct." His voice was low and cold. It sent shivers down her spine.

"I was sent by Naraku."

Not even a hint of a flicker of emotion passed his features. "The only reason you were allowed entrance."

She couldn't fight the tug at the corners of her red mouth. "I have not been allowed entrance yet, however. I am, after all, still standing in the hallway. Entrance would entail being invited into your suite."

He stared at her for a long moment, red eyes evened out with golden before he finally stepped back and held the door open farther for her to pass through. He was dressed in tan dress slacks and a white, button up dress shirt. A dark blue tie was tied loosely around his neck and she could see the matching dress coat hung neatly over the back of a desk chair. The interior of the suite was done in mostly creams with golden accents and expensive floral prints on the walls with stone statues for decorations. She could see the toad youkai pouring over what looked to be an accounts ledger. Just one look at the little creatures sheer...ugliness...gave her goose bumps and her red gaze returned to something far more pleasing to the eyes: the inu youkai. "Now, what is it that you want."

This time her smile was full, revealing two fang-like canines. "That, Mr. Takahashi is simple. I want my freedom, however, in order to gain that I must first complete several tasks for Naraku - the first of which happens to be relieving you of the katanas."

* * *

_Cabin in the Mountains_

_Japan

* * *

_

"Sango-chan?" Kagome called from the bathroom. She had just come out of the shower to discover that the overnight bag she'd brought with her was not her overnight bag, but belonged to one hentai radiology student. Both bags were small and black and they had been piled on top of each other in the helicopter...

She turned her back to the door and zipped the bag back up so that she could hand it to Sango when she got the friend to take to the boy's room. Because she had called Sango, she didn't think twice when she heard the bathroom door open...that is until she heard a distinctive male voice start apologizing.

"Gomen ne...Honto ni sumimasen...I...you...she..." he stuttered over his words in a most embarrassing manner and quickly stepped out, slamming the door behind him. He stayed at the by the door to apologize, however. "Sango went outside to try and get a signal on her cell phone." Kagome was bright red from her shoulders up as she gripped the blue cotton towel tighter around herself. He was just as flustered as she was, she realized. "I thought you were already dressed...the door wasn't locked."

"It doesn't work!" Kagome exclaimed in self defense although his tone hadn't been accusing at all. "I tried to lock it and the screws fell out of the bolt..." Her voice trailed off and she sighed.

"Well, the place is old. I'll see if I can't fix it when you're done."

She could hear him starting to move around and she bit her lip. "Inuyasha, matte kudasai!" The movements stopped. "I was trying to get Sango to get my bag...I grabbed the wrong one when we got off the helicopter and I brought Miroku's in accidentally...can you get mine out of your room, onegai? All my stuff's in there..." She slid the door open, trying to stay hidden behind it while kicking the overnight bag into the main room. "Just knock first, okay?"

"Fine." Staining her ears she could hear the rustle of fabric that indicated he'd picked up Miroku's bag and stomp off. Minutes later there was a knock and she carefully slid the door open again taking the bag he passed through to her.

"Arigatou, Inuyasha."

Miroku stood at the stove, stirring the contents of a pot which was to be part of their dinner. His grin gave away his thoughts. "Was she as cute undressed as she is dressed."

The hanyou's growl was answer enough for him.

* * *

_Hilton Hotel_

_Morocco

* * *

_

"Sesshomaru was quite surprised to find out that he's only in possession of one katana - the Tenseiga." Kagura stood on the balcony of her hotel room in Morocco with a cell phone to her ear. "It was his guess that his hanyou half brother managed to steal the other."

"And he took the payment for the one katana?" The smooth baritone on the other end belonged to none other than her employer.

The wind youkai tensed knowing the quasi hanyou would not appreciate her answer. "Iie. He refused to hand over the Tenseiga. Actually, I think his exact words were somewhere along the lines of having to pry it from his cold, dead fingers."

"Then you will have to resort to other measures, won't you Kagura?" It was not a question. "I want the Tenseiga before Varsha manages to find the little girl and her friends. Once I have all of the items in my possession you and your siblings will be set free, wakarimasu ka?"

"Hai...Wakarimasu."

* * *

_Cabin in the Woods_

_Japan

* * *

_

"Well, I'm turning in, Kagome-chan." Sango stretched and yawned as she stood up off the bench that leaned against the house. The two had come outside for some fresh air and to get away from the boys. If they were going to have to spend an extended about of time with the two, they were going to have to be able to get some privacy and some time to themselves.

Kagome nodded. "Oyasumi nasai, Sango-chan. I think I'll stay out here for a bit longer."

"Okay. Oyasumi nasai, Kagome."

Kagome drew her knees up so that her heels rested on the edge of the bench as Sango got up and went in. She didn't know how long she sat there staring out at the stars that twinkled down at them. It wasn't very often she got to see such a sight in Tokyo, not even at the shrine and she enjoyed the peaceful and tranquil feelings that washed over her in the secluded mountain cabin. So engrossed was she in the serene atmosphere that she didn't realize someone else had joined her at first and when she did, she barely acknowledged their presence. "It's beautiful out here, isn't it?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess."

"Why haven't you been out here in so long? I can't believe anyone could stay away from here." She sighed and smiled slightly. There was a long silence and Kagome shrugged, figuring the secretive hanyou wasn't going to respond. "Well, I like it, anyway."

"It's just not a pleasant place for me." His voice was quiet as if it strained him to talk about it. "My parents and I were on our way back from a weekend trip here."

Kagome frowned, her sad blue eyes turning to look at him in understanding. She had decided a long time ago that she was glad her grandfather had invited them to live with him after the incident. If she'd had to grow up in the house where it happened, she wouldn't have been able to deal. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want too."

He shrugged. "It's not like it matters or anything."

She nodded and stood up, looking directly at him. "You can tell me anything you want too, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want too. Just remember that I can understand what it's like and you're not the only one." She gave him a slight smile as she passed him. "Oyasumi nasai, Inuyasha."

"Feh."

* * *

The insistent ring of a cellular phone drug Kagome out of her sleep and she groaned, stuffing the pillow over her head while Sango rolled over, searching for the flip phone that was supposed to be on the nightstand.

"Moshi moshi?" There was silence and then a shriek. "Nani!"

"Oi, Sango! I'm trying to sleep!" The raved haired girl groaned lifting the pillow just far enough to glare at her friend.

"Shh, Kagome. What were you saying, Otou-san?" Again silence and then another squeal. "Hai! We'll find a way to Kyoto. Arigatou Otou-san!" The phone clicked shut and Sango bounced off the bed. "Kagome, get up! We have to wake the boys -"

"I think you already did that."

"- my father says that some private investigator friend of his got in touch with another friend who has a friend who knows a guy who's brother is on the Kyoto police force. There was a fire five nights ago at some factory and they found a bunker underneath and guess what was stored there? Go on guess!"

"It's really too early for this..."

"The Haraikotsu!" Sango was already up and running a brush through her hair, getting ready for the day and Kagome was just throwing back the covers and dragging herself out of bed. "Otou-san says that he's got work and can't get away to go to Kyoto to recover the Haraikotsu and he asked that I get it. Do you think I can talk Inuyasha and Miroku into going to Kyoto with us?"

"Can we discuss it at a more decent hour?" Kagome managed a smile when Sango turned her head to glare at her.

* * *

A/N: Takahashi Sesshomaru, lord of the Western Lands Casino gambling chain. I couldn't help myself. I had to think of something to call his casino and...well...he _is_ the lord of the Western Lands...

Okay, this chapter is just slow. I know that, you know that. I apologize. I've gotten a bit of writer's block. HELP ME!

* * *

Glossary:

Youkai - Daemon

Sayonara - Goodbye

Onegai - Please

Arigatou - Thanks

Gomen ne - I'm sorry

Matte kudasai - Wait a moment

Demo - But

Miko - Priestess

Hanyou - half daemon/half human

Katana - sword

Inu youkai - Dog daemon

Doshite - Why?

Fusama - wall panels

Shoji - sliding wall panel, door

Arigatou gozaimazu - Thank you

Wakarimasu ka - Do you understand?

Wakarimasu - I understand

Oyasumi nasai - Goodnight

Iie - No

Moshi Moshi - A telephone greeting from what I've gathered.

Nani - What

Oi - Hey

Otou-san - Father

Hai - yes

* * *

Reviewer Comments:

Agent Doo - ((Hands over prettily wrapped Inu plushie)) Hmmm...is it the cabin from Kagome's dream? ((taps chin thoughtfully)) Oh, I know! Don't you just hate that? Or like when the bad guy comes in and they have a clear shot to the door, to an exit, but they run upstairs instead.

Kirei Kitsune - I wanted to focus a little bit more on the fluffiness and the relationships for the moment since I spent so much of the first part with the action. But the heart pumping gut wrenching action will start again in the very near future. :)

Yashafan1 - Now if they could just get the awkwardness of the relationship out of their situation.

Sara - hmm...more than one night...I suppose since you _are_ so far away and since you _don't_ have a car and you _depend_ on me to keep you entertained with my excellent writing, I _suppose_ I could see what I can do.


	12. Between Allies and Enemies

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. I had a bit of writer's block. Heck, I still have writer's block. And I had so many ideas for other fics coming out it was hard to concentrate. At least I finally got inspired to finish my one shot, _You Can't Go Home Again_. It looks like this fics gonna end in like the next two chapters or so. I've had fun writing it.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

* * *

_Hilton Hotel_

_Morocco

* * *

_

A knock on her door startled the wind youkai as she was about to pour a cup of coffee for herself. The hotel, unfortunately, supplied the horrid stuff as if it were going out of style and yet when she had asked for tea, they had given her iced and unsweet tea. Damn language barriers. She tightened the white, terry cloth robe around her slim frame and opened the door. "Hai? Nani desu ka?" His startled look at her tone and the use of her native language was enough to make her want to crack a smile, but she bit it back and sighed. The sooner she could get that katana and go home, the better. "What is it?" She asked again pronouncing every letter with perfect and emphasized accuracy.

The boy held out a bouquet of white flowers. "These were delivered for you this morning, ma'am." Her glare darkened at the use of _that_ word and the boy gulped. As soon as she'd taken the bouquet from him, he nodded and started backing away. "Sorry for disturbing you ma...uh...miss...Enjoy your stay!" And he was gone.

She closed the door and plucked a card from within the blossoms. The writing on the card, had she had a heart, would have made it skip a beat.

_Kagura,_

_Have your luggage delivered to my hotel. Room 305. You can pick up the key at the front desk._

_Sesshomaru_

Her curiosity piqued, she set the vase on the bedside table and went into the bathroom to get dressed. This was turning out to be an interesting and, hopefully, profitable day after all.

Two hours later the wind youkai, dressed in a black businesses pant suit and black heels made her way to the front desk of the Western Lands Casino Resort. Luckily the receptionist for that day was different from the one she'd seen the day before. She managed a polite demeanor and with much controlled gentleness stated, "There should be a key here for me. My name is Kagura."

The girl screwed her face up in thought and then started digging through a desk drawer before coming out with a silver key. "Ah, yeah, here it is. It's room 305 on the second floor. The elevators are over there and," she added before Kagura could leave, "Mr. Takahashi wanted me to inform you that you will be joining him for dinner in his suite at six thirty."

Her brow lifted curiously. "Oh? I received no such invitation."

"Mr. Takahashi doesn't issue invitations, Miss Kagura," the girl said with a bit of a sigh. "He issues orders and those of us who are smart follow them without question or delay."

"Is that so?" Kagura smirked and tucked the key into a pocket in her pants suit. "Well, I shall make sure to not keep him waiting."

Her room, she discovered, was a two room suite complete with kitchenette and living area. The bedroom was spacious and light, done in yellow and white with a full size canopy bed. The headboard and the furniture within the room were creamy white, the walls were butter yellow with paintings of flowers and landscapes by Monet. The bed covers were a lighter yellow color with golden accent pillows. The living area was spacious with a couch and chair and television. The furniture was white and the walls were a pale blue with deep gold and dark blue accents. More Monet reprint paintings adorned the walls. It was certainly more comfortable than the room she'd been staying in at the Hilton Hotel and a lot more expensive, she was sure. But then, since the one footing the bill owned the casino, it wouldn't be that big a deal for her. Perhaps he had come to his senses and was going to give her the Tenseiga.

Or maybe he found her as attractive as she did him?

* * *

_Japan

* * *

_

"Varsha," Naraku's smooth voice drifted to the young red head and she reluctantly stood up, going to where he sat, reading the paper, "your sister has been successful, the Hiraikotsu has been recovered. Now, I want you there when the taijiya girl goes to pick it up. You will use that opportunity to discover where they're hiding."

Varsha rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "What kind of master plan is it to let them have one of the items _you_ so desperately want?"

Naraku's smile was sinister. "Once I've found their hiding place you and I will go there to retrieve the Hiraikotsu," he explained slowly as if he were talking to a half wit or an incompetent child. "While we're there we'll also collect the Tetsuseiga and the Shikon Pearl. It's called killing three birds with one stone, I do believe." He folded the paper neatly and placed it on the desk beside him.

"I thought the saying was two birds with one stone," Varsha commented, tapping her chin and looking to the ceiling in thought. She was, of course, only trying to irritate the quasi hanyou. At the moment it wasn't like he could do much to her - he needed her mental abilities too desperately to kill her at the moment. If he did, he'd have a hell of a time trying to find out where the brats had hidden themselves. "Three seems like a bit of a stretch."

He was upon her in a breath's time and roughly grabbed her chin in his hand, yanking her head to look at him. "I could just as easily call Kagura back here and have her accompany me in retrieving my things. Even Kanna would be able to perform that task," he hissed, venom lacing his voice. "It would be wise to remember that once you've found their sanctuary you will have outlived your usefulness." He released her, pushing her backwards as he did so, causing her to stumble slightly before regaining her footing. "Now, Kagura is dealing with the inu youkai at the moment for the Tenseiga. If she knows what's good for her she will not come back empty handed." His dark eyes now bored into hers. "I will not accept failure."

Realizing his meaning and knowing that it would be futile for her to even think of blotching this up, the mind youkai grimaced. "Hai. I will call you as soon as I know their hiding spot." She turned on the cell phone and clipped it to her belt as she walked out the door of the quasi hanyou's office with a sour expression. Kami, but she was tired of him using her and her abilities - she'd rather be dead than live like that.

Maybe if she were lucky the hanyou would kill her.

* * *

_Cabin_

_Osaka, Japan

* * *

_

"Chikosho, Sesshomaru!" The enraged hanyou was no where near the house, but the others heard him clearly as he yelled into the phone at his older brother. "You can't just leave us stranded in the middle of the fucking mountains!"

"Oh, but can't I, Inuyasha?" His brother's voice was bored and quiet. "Or I could have you dropped off at the nearest jail for theft."

"What the hell are you going on about now?"

There was a sigh on the other end. "The Tetsuseiga, Inuyasha. You haven't lost it yet, I hope?" he heard Jaken say something in the background and then heard a yelp and a thump. Yep, Sesshomaru was just as abusive as always. "You've no business carrying around such a valuable object. You will return the katana at once."

"No fucking way!" Inuyasha exclaimed, his fist colliding with the nearest tree. "You just get a chopper here and get us to Kyoto and back. Tetsuseiga is in my possession now so get over it!"

"Listen, little brother, I do not have the time nor the patience to deal with you. Naraku has sent one of his employees to retrieve the Tenseiga and I've had my hands full dealing with her. Take the chopper to Kyoto, but know that as soon as Naraku has been disposed of I am coming for the sword." The dial tone buzzed in his ears and left him even angrier than before.

* * *

_Western Lands Casino Resort_

_Morocco

* * *

_

She dressed slowly, taking extra care with her appearance for the dinner that night. To have to kill something so gorgeous would be an absolute sin so her only other option was to seduce Sesshomaru Takahashi into giving up his sword. Something that she was soon to discover would be a difficult task.

At the moment, however, she was making trips across the suite, trying to remember everything she needed. She had not brought anything with her from Japan (flying on a feather doesn't leave much room for luggage) and so she had had to shop for clothing and other necessaries before seeing the inu entrepreneur the first time. One good thing she _could_ say about working for Naraku - the quasi hanyou paid well. Although good pay did not make up for her lack of freedom. A paid slave was still a slave.

Kagura took pain staking measures to make sure that every hair was perfectly in place. The dark locks were silky and slipped through her fingers when she tried to pin it and so she had had to use a sprits bottle of water to wet the strands as she used a curling iron to achieve a tamable body. By the time she was through with that, the bodice of her black slip was damp. While waiting for that to dry, she did her make up, a few light touches to highlight her 'natural' beauty.

The ocean blue velvet dress was slipped on last. It was spaghetti strapped and clung to her torso, but fell into a loose skirt that swished as she moved and ended just above her knees. Black heels completed the look and the wind youkai smiled approvingly at the reflection in the mirror. Her raven hair was pulled back in an ornate bun with her bangs and a few loose tendrils framing her face. Her eye make up was subtle to allow attention to be drawn to the deep red, thick lips but still caused her red eyes to sparkle. Sapphire tear drop earrings dangled from her pointed ears and a small necklace with matching sapphire drop and a simple gold, chain link bracelet adorned her neck and wrist.

"This is going to be easy," she muttered draping a black crochet shawl over her shoulders and headed for the door, telling herself her only motive was the Tenseiga. It wasn't like she really wanted to become involved an inu youkai, even one as stunningly handsome as Sesshomaru Takahashi. Besides, with Naraku still alive she was in no position to become involved with _anyone_, especially not the enemy.

* * *

_Cabin_

_Osaka, Japan

* * *

_

Finally the onyx colored chopper landed in the clearing, pressing the grass down with the strong gusts created by the whirling blades. Kagome's hair whipped around her face, covering her eyes for a moment while Sango and Miroku tugged on the sleeves of her shirt, pulling her in the direction of the machine. Sango had been restless all morning, ready to get to Kyoto to retrieve the long missing heirloom that her family so coveted. It had been carved and used by the taijiya ancestor whom she was named for, she had explained when she told them that the boomerang had been recovered, and therefore it had a special meaning to her.

Inuyasha held the chopper door open and waited for the others to climb in before jumping in behind them and closing the door, giving the pilot a thumbs up to signal that they were ready for take off. He fell into the seat next to Miroku and fumbled with his seat belt while the others spoke.

"Now if only they could recover the sutras and the ofuda scrolls of my family's legacy," Miroku commented, sounding a bit melancholy. "Though, if they were housed in the same warehouse as Sango-chan's Hiraikotsu, they probably burned."

"Not necessarily," Sango told him, trying to comfort him slightly. "My father said that the Hiraikotsu was in a bunker under the warehouse. They just happened to come upon the secret entrance while cleaning up the mess from the fire."

"Why did your family decide to keep something like that anyway?" Kagome asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, it was the papers that gave them the curse of the Kazaana, right?" When he nodded she threw up a hand as if that should be answer enough for her confusion. "The curse wasn't supposed to be a good thing - it killed them in their early lives and their only hope was to find a woman to...be with...and produce a son who would inherit the Kazaana when they died and would have to start the circle all over again. How is that supposed to bring good fortune?"

"It isn't about bringing good fortune, Kagome chan." He closed his eyes and placed his hand before his face, bent parallel to his face, his thumb even with his nose (you know that look he gets when he spits out advise). "The Kazaana's ofuda and sutra scrolls are kept in my family along with the legends of the curse as a reminder that every day of our existence is a gift to be treasured and not wasted. We walk the path of this life never knowing when it may end, etcetera and etcetera. A sort of carpe dieum if you will." He opened his eyes and moved his right hand away from his face so that it was palm out in a 'scouts honor' type pose. "However, the Kazaana was not the only curse that affected my ancestor's hand. The other has yet to be lifted and there appears to be only one way to sedate it."

It was obvious that he was not going to continue until someone asked the inevitable question and he grinned as they warred with their inner selves over which one would break first. Sango pursed her lips together and turned her head so that she was looking out the window, arms crossed over her black tee shirt, hiding the red, metallic, broken heart decorating its front. The white sleeves of her long sleeved undershirt were rolled up slightly. She was determined to say nothing. Inuyasha was seemingly concentrating on some spot in the floor, acting as if he had heard none of their conversation, but by the way his ears swiveled in each direction, trying to determine from what direction _the_ question would come from it was obvious he was just as curious as the girls. Kagome's gaze moved from the hanyou to her friend to the boy. She didn't want to ask. She knew the answer, but Miroku was going to keep waiting until someone did and this was going to be a long ride if they had to continue in silence with that stupid smirk plastered on the young man's face. Finally, she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"And what curse is that, Miroku-chan?" She asked, feigning curiosity as she clasped her hands together and forced a smile. "How do you keep it under control?"

His grin only widened. "The answer, Kagome-chan, is quite simple. The curse causes the accursed a great pain in his right hand and the only thing that seems to alleviate that pain is the feel of a nice, subtle, soft a-"

* * *

_Western Lands Casino Resort_

_Morocco

* * *

_

"Ahem? Kagura-san?"

The onna youkai looked down upon a small greenish creature wearing a black suit and dark red tie. One side of her mouth curled slightly in a snarl of disgust. The thing was short _and_ ugly. "I was told that I should meet Takahashi-san at this time. Where is he?"

The creature shuffled from one foot to the other. "He is here, Kagura-san," he assured her and moved aside so that she could enter. "He has simply had a few things that must be taken care of before he can join you." The little youkai narrowed his eyes thinking about the _things_ Sesshomaru had had to take care of. It was disgusting the actions that his employer was taking for a ningen - a race that he had proclaimed many times to despise. "You are to make yourself comfortable as you wait for him."

"Arigatou gozaimazu. How long will he be?" She slipped the shawl from her shoulders and dropped it onto his head without a second thought as she walked passed him to sit in a white, overstuffed arm chair. "My patience with this horrid country is running thin and the sooner Takahashi-san hands over that katana, the happier I'll be."

"What gave you the impression that I was surrendering my sword?" The new voice was smooth and rich and came from behind her. Though she stiffened slightly, she did not turn around, simply crossed her legs, folding her hands in her lap, seeming to ignore him.

She could almost feel him smirking as he rounded the chair to sit across from her in its mate. By the time he faced her, his features were as cold and unreadable as usual. "Then what were your reasons?" She pretended to not care.

The inu youkai snapped his fingers and the green youkai scurried out of the room only to return a few minutes later with a tray of chilled wine and two glasses which he poured with only slightly shaking hands. "I've a different proposition for you."

* * *

_Western Lands Apartments_

_Kyoto, Japan

* * *

_

His brother, it seemed, had acquired a good deal of property in his time at college, Inuyasha realized as the helicopter landed on the roof of an apartment building with the inu hanyou's family symbol painted on the concrete. The other young man stepped out behind him, rubbing his sore cheek. The young woman hadn't been able to reach him after his...unfortunate...answer earlier, but had, upon landing, dished out an appropriate punishment.

"You're an idiot," Kagome muttered under her breath as she walked out behind him. When he raised his brow in curiosity she rolled her eyes. "Does she have to break your jaw before you learn when to keep your mouth shut?"

He tried to frown, but ended up hissing at the stinging in his cheek. She had definitely not held back on that one. "Old habits die hard?" He gave her a crooked smile and turned his attention to trying to win back the affections of his lady once more. "I meant it as a compliment, Sango, you must believe me."

The dark haired girl pushed passed him, nose disdainfully in the air as her long ponytail swaying as she walked. "Then, onegai, spare me your compliments." She sent a violent glare in his direction and shook her head. Inuyasha stood by the door off of the roof and held it open for them to descend. The wind around them was starting to lesson as the blades of the chopper were finally starting to slow down and the pilot also joined them on their decent. A few quiet words with the hanyou and the man was gone into the darkness of the stairwell. The inu hanyou stuffed a piece of paper in his pocket and glared at the other three.

Kagome sighed and jogged to catch up with her friend glancing at a scowling Inuyasha as she passed him. "Sango-chan," she said quietly, linking her arm with hers, "I think he really is trying." Sango's brow raised in curiosity and disbelief and Kagome giggled. "Well, in his own way. He likes you, that much is obvious, but he really needs to learn a new way to show it..."

Inuyasha closed the door after the other boy had gone in, several steps behind the girls. "Can you really be that stupid?" the hanyou muttered causing Miroku to look around at him curiously. "For three days the four of us've been stuck together and even _I_ can see she's not falling for that lecher act of yours."

"She'll have forgiven me by this afternoon," Miroku replied with certainty. "It never fails. I manage to say something to irritate her and she forgives me a few hours later." He smiled and watched the two girls descend in front of them, speaking quietly so that he could hear them, but knew that the hanyou was catching their every word by the way one ear was directed on them. "It would not be such a bad deal if Sango would take the next step in our relationship."

Sango sighed and glanced at the boys without moving her eyes. "He's never going to change."

Kagome shook her head. "Probably not, but at least he's a faithful lecher." She laughed and made a face. "Well, that's an oxymoron, isn't it? But it is true. In the months since I've known you, I've never seen him go after another girl like that."

Sango gave a light laugh. "You're right, but it would be nice if he were a little more romantic? If he could just not say such offensive things and keep his hands to himself..."

"He wouldn't be Miroku," Kagome finished. Sango sighed in resignation knowing it was true.

Inuyasha's ear twitched at the end of the girl's conversation and he rolled his eyes. "Both of you got problems," he muttered.

* * *

_Western Lands Casino Resort_

_Morocco

* * *

_

"You've a proposition for me?" Kagura looked up at him with contained curiosity. "Should I be worried?"

The inu youkai leaned back in his chair and swirled the dark liquid in his glass. The little toad had gone to check on their food. "That is up to you."

Though she was intrigued, she fought to keep her expression as unreadable as his in an effort to not give anything away. "You wished for your freedom? If I could offer you that, what would you do for me in return."

A soft, seductive smile tugged on her red lips as she leaned forward, forgetting to feign indifference. "If you could give me that, I would do anything you wished..." Her lips parted slightly, revealing two fanglike canines, "...with extreme pleasure."

There was a flash of something in his golden eyes, but other than that his features remained deadpan. What was it that had darkened those eyes, she wondered, but had no time to find out as he had begun to speak again. "We will discuss the price later. First tell me what it is that Naraku holds over you that keeps you in his employ even though you despise him."

A noticeable depression settled over her and the smile was gone. "My life," she answered softly. "My heart."

"I was under the impression you disliked your employer and yet you say he holds your heart?" His lips pursed slightly. "You were lying before."

"Iie," Kagura insisted, "I did not lie when I said that I hated him. If I were to betray him, he would kill me. One flick of his wrist and my heart stops beating." She touched her chest where her heart would have been felt beating, but felt nothing against her warm skin. "It is how he keeps us under his control."

Sesshomaru was quiet and his ears gave a almost unnoticeable twitch as he realized what had struck him as so different about this woman. The light 'badum, badum' that usually accompanied the presence of any being was not there. It was as if she were empty. He understood then that Naraku had managed a way to take the heart from her while sustaining her life. "How was this possible?"

She looked down into the wine glass. So much for seduction and mimicking his indifferent demeanor...so much for her plans. "We, my sisters and I, are a part of him. When Onigumo joined with the youkai, it somehow gave him the ability to split parts of himself away from his body and we were formed," she explained slowly. "There is myself. I was the first and am, therefore, the oldest and I control the wind and the dead. Varsha was the second and has mind powers. The last so far is Kanna. She is but a child, but has probably the most effective of our abilities. She uses her power to suck the souls from living beings into a mirror." She smiled sadly and sighed, setting the glass on a table beside her. "Naraku has promised our freedom once we have helped him gather the items."

"And you believe him?" His voice showed how stupid he thought they were for believing the hanyou's empty promises.

"Of course not. Only his death will rid us of him." She raised her red eyes to him. "Are you willing to kill him to get what you want, Takahashi-san? What every it is you need me to do that you would offer me freedom, is it that important?"

His golden eyes narrowed. "I do not _need_ you to do anything. I could perform the task myself, but I prefer to not dirty my hands with such a lowly business."

Before she could question him farther, the toad youkai returned. "The food is ready and the table has been set, Sesshomaru - san."

* * *

_Kyoto, Japan

* * *

_

A young woman with bright red hair, dressed in dark blue slacks and a white shirt walked them down the stairs of the police station. "I'm glad that we could return your family's property to you, Sango-san," she said cheerfully. "It's amazing that the boomerang was found after all these years, don't you think? And by complete accident, too..."

"Hai, Varsha-san, it is." Sango kept her hands tucked in her jean pockets. "My otou-san was excited when he found out."

"Do you know who put it there or were you able to find any clues as too how the Hiraikotsu wound up in that warehouse?" Miroku questioned curiously.

Though the humans hadn't really noticed, Inuyasha detected the sudden change in her scent signaling her slight nervousness at the question. Something had been tugging at his senses since they'd first been introduced to this Varsha person. There was something familiar in her scent, but it was like there was something blocking his memory and it was beginning to bother him.

Kagome looked up at him when he growled low in his throat and nudged him with her elbow. "Nani desu ka?" She asked softly, knitting her brows, slightly worried. "Daijoubou desu ka?"

"Hai, daijoubou," he muttered, looking down at her. His features were drawn in a scowl, but she could see his impatience or ire was not with her, but at some other source. "There's just something not right. There's something familiar about her scent, but...I don't know...I can't think of it."

"Maybe you're just paranoid." Kagome smiled slightly. "It's fine. We're in a police station. What could possibly happen?" His look was all the answer she needed - more than she was willing to admit.

He growled again and narrowed his eyes at the woman leading the elevators that would take them to the basement evidence room where Hiraikotsu was stored.

Varsha was cheerfully explaining how they had been extra careful with the protection of the Hiraikotsu, but stopped them before they reached the elevators. "Nani?" Sango opened her mouth to speak further, but Varsha turned towards them, her cheerful expression replaced with a mischievous smirk.

"I have a confession to make," the red head said, pouting innocently. "I've been a very naughty girl." Before any of them could react, she had a tight grip on Kagome's shoulders, her nails beginning to dig into the human girl's flesh. Kagome's eyes seemed to go blank and she relaxed, hanging limply in Varsha's hold. Then just as quickly she released her and Kagome's knees buckled. Inuyasha caught her before she hit the floor and Varsha leapt backwards, out of their reach.

"I'd be careful about pulling people into your nightmares, if I were you. Could be dangerous, you know." She sprinted off, disappearing through the doors and into the crowded streets of Kyoto, but the last of her words echoed in their minds. "Sweet dreams, Kagome-chan."

By the time Inuyasha had been able to pass the now recovering Kagome to Miroku and start after the red haired youkai, she was gone and he growled evilly, hands clenching into a fist. Now he knew where he'd smelled that scent before. Everything made sense now. "Chikosho! That bitch!" He'd have knocked a hole in the nearest wall if he wouldn't have had to pay for it. "She was the one in the girl's room the other night when we were at Kaede's. That red powder I found...it had something to do with her."

"She works for Naraku," Kagome said softly, standing on her own now, rubbing her temples. "That woman has some sort of mental powers or something. She spoke into my head...did something to me..."

* * *

_Japan

* * *

"Well?" The voice caught her off guard and Varsha turned, still buttoning a green shirt over a white tube top. She barely contained her grimace when she saw Naraku. "You had better not come empty handed."_

She smiled sweetly and kept the shirt partly open to show the tube top underneath it. "Why would I do that? Of course I know exactly where they are going when they leave Kyoto." She reached up to her hair and undid the barrettes holding her bangs up so that they fell across her face. "Do you want to meet them when they return or do you want to give them a little time to get comfortable first."

"We will catch them off guard. Tonight."

* * *

"Kanna, I want you to keep an eye on Varsha and Kagura. They have become much too argumentative," Naraku told her once he and the child were alone in his study. His home was expansive, the money from his dealings keeping him living in luxury. The police, of course, suspected his backhanded ways, but had no proof and no means of gaining the proof necessary to convict him. There were no records to suggest that Naraku was Onigumo, only rumors. As far as anyone knew Onigumo was dead and Naraku was heir to a comfortable fortune.

"If they try anything suspicious you will warn me immediately so that they may be dealt with accordingly. Wakarimasu ka?"

The girl's expression never changed, her red eyes remained empty and focused on some point straight in front of her. "Hai, Wakarimasu," she answered quietly for she never spoke above a whisper. In truth, she was just as unhappy with her situation as her sisters. She longed to be free to play, to go to school, and be like other children, but she was better at hiding her longings than they were.

"Very good." Naraku's smile was twisted and he patted the girl's white hair. "Varsha and I are going to be out. Inform me the instant you hear anything from Kagura."

"Hai, Naraku-san."

* * *

Glossary

Youkai - daemon

Hai - yes

Nani desu ka - What is it?

Ona - woman

Katana - sword

Taijiya - youkai slayer

Hanyou - half daemon/half human

Kami - god

Chikosho - Damnit

Inu - dog

Wakarimasu ka - Do you understand

Wakarimasu - I understand

Ningen - human

Nani desu ka? - What is it?

Daijoubou desu ka? - Are you alright?

* * *

Reviewer Comments

Kogoro - Leaving? Awww, drat.

YashaFan1 - Probably Miroku and Sango as they've known each other longer. I really like the Kagura & Sesshomaru pairing and I think that had Takahashi-san not killed her off, then they would have had a relationship eventually.

Nekolover - Welll, that's kinda the idea behind the story. The safety net in this story is a metaphore. The catatonic state that Kagome and Inuyasha were in when they were children were only a part of their safety net. Several times in thoughts, Inuyasha has referred to Kagome as his light...she was the one that kept him sane while he was trapped in the cave of his mind. She was, therefore, his safety net and continues to be. According to Kaede he had no friends and no social life until he took the insentive to save Kagome from that first bomb. Suddenly he was thrown back into life and has made an unconscious decision to protect Kagome from Naraku. They are each other's safety nets.


	13. Showdown with Past Demons

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

_Osaka, Japan

* * *

_

They were, at the moment, trying to forget that any out of the ordinary activity had happened at all during their visit to the police station. Hiraikotsu was safely loaded in the helicopter and it had been unanimously decided that they would go out for dinner instead of going straight back to the cabin and having to fend for themselves and they were currently in a small pizza place not far from the warehouse where the chopper was waiting.

Sango and Miroku sat across from one another, each cautiously eyeing the last slice of pizza, neither reaching for it, while Inuyasha and Kagome argued over who was better at pinball and alternatively trying to distract the other from their game so that he or she would loose.

Miroku's hand slid across the table and Sango sat up straighter, on her guard. She was not quite ready to indulge in a second slice just yet, but she wanted it to be there when she was ready. In all fairness it wasn't _his_ slice anyway. He'd already had three and Kagome had only barely been able to save a slice for herself and Sango from the void known as Inuyasha. She gave him a _touch it and die_ glare while he simply smiled, changing the path of his hand so that his fingers brushed hers where they lay near her tea glass.

"Miroku..." her voice held a warning tone to it. She'd already been groped at least three times off an on over the course of the day and he'd tried, unsuccessfully, to play footsie with her under the table during dinner.

He quirked a brow. "You know, Sango, if I didn't know any better I'd say you didn't like me very much." He leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms over his chest, looking smug, as if he knew something she didn't.

"I like _you_ just fine. It's your wandering eyes and hands that I don't like." She pushed her plate away, deciding that the second slice wasn't worth it. "Despite what you might think, Miroku, not every girl enjoys being fondled or leered at."

He nodded. "If I didn't try every now and then, you might think I'd lost interest and find a replacement. I can't have that. Where would I be without Sango-chan?"

"Lost in a harem somewhere?"

He chuckled. "Certainly would be interesting, Surrounded by beautiful wom - ow!" He leaned forward to rub his leg where she'd kicked him.

"That was not a picture I wanted in my mind," she muttered, crossing her arms, glaring at him..

"Jealous, Sango-chan?"

Despite how much she might have wanted to, she could not hide the blush that spread across her cheeks. "Hardly. Disgusted perhaps, but not jealous."

He chuckled and dodged another kick.

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan

* * *

_

Varsha and Naraku had left for the cabin to wait for the girl and her friends to arrive. Kanna sat her mirror on the bed and picked up her cell phone. According to Naraku, Kagura had called earlier that day to report that Sesshomaru had invited her to dinner to discus the katanas which meant that her sister would be staying in Sesshomaru's resort. For the first time that evening, she let the emotionless expression she usually kept in Naraku's presence drop and the fear she felt at the situation arise.

She had almost dialed Kagura's cell phone number when she realized one very important thing. Naraku had bought the phones. He kept tabs on them through the phones. If she used it to call Kagura, he would know and he would suspect her of being in alliance with her sisters and they would be no closer to a chance at freedom. Dropping the phone back on the bed, she grabbed a small change purse and stuck it in her jeans pocket. Only one other thing to do, she decided, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears and readjusting the lotus blossom barrette that held it out of her face, she'd have to find a payphone nearby or some other means of reaching her.

The side of her shown as she moved through the house towards the front door was one that she had not shown to anyone before. She ran in a near panic, desperate to make it to a phone and place her call then return home before Naraku and Varsha returned to find her missing.

Just a block from where they lived a corner payphone was currently and blessedly unoccupied. She dropped a few coins in the machine, having to stand on her tip toes to do so. Drat that childish body! "Information? I need to find the number of a resort in Morocco. The Western Lands Casino and Resort. Thank you."

She sat there on hold while the operator connected her and asked for a few more coins which she readily deposited.

"Western Lands Casino and Resort, this is Barbara how may I help you?"

Kanna paused for a minute, having forgotten that of course the hotel works would speak English. It was why Kagura had been assigned the duty of relieving Sesshomaru of his katana. _She_ knew the language. "Ah...Takahashi Sesshomaru...much important..." She knew she should have learned when Kagura was taking those lessons.

"Western Lands Casino and Resort is a multilingual resort and offers a selection of assistance in communication. I can transfer you to another receptionist if that would help. What language please?"

The woman was wasting her breath because Kanna only was able to recognize a few words here there, just enough to know that she might be getting some help. "Japan."

"One moment." There was a beep and a strange music played in her ear, nothing like the music Naraku kept around the house. Another beep and she heard something that she finally understood. "Konnichiwa, Western Lands Casino and Resort." They were speaking her language!

Perking up, she stood straighter, digging in her pocket for more coins in case she needed them. "I need to speak to someone in Takahashi Sesshomaru's suite. Her name is Kagura and she's my sister. Please? It's very important."

"Takahashi-san has requested to not be disturbed this afternoon. Does your sister have a room here where you could leave her a voice mail?"

Kanna sighed and stamped her foot. "It's a family emergency. I really need to speak with my sister. Please, if you just put me through he'll understand. It's a matter of life and death."

The woman on the other end hesitated and finally sighed in defeat. "Alright. And what's your name?"

"Kanna. Arigatou." Another beep and more strange music. She glanced around nervously hoping that Naraku hadn't come back and found her missing. He would not be happy.

"Kanna? Nani desu ka?" Kagura's voice made her jump. "Why didn't you call my cellular? Tell Naraku that I'm working on it, if he's wanting to know if I've made progress."

"It's not that, Kagura. I couldn't call your cell - he'd trace it then we'd all be dead!" She exclaimed in slight panic. "Kagura, he knows that you and Varsha are planning something. He knows you're going to betray him somehow and he told me to keep an eye on you. I'm supposed to report to him if you two do anything suspicious."

The child-like youkai could hear her sister's breath stop for a moment and the sound of something dropping and clattering to the floor. "Kanna, what else did he say?"

"Nothing. He took Varsha with him to wherever the girl and her friends are staying. He plans to ambush them when they arrive. If he doesn't kill Varsha, he'll let them do it. She's in danger, Kagura."

"I know. Look, I'll think of something. Go back to the house and wait. We'll be alright."

"Hai."

Kanna started to hang up when she heard Kagura call to her once more. "Kanna? Arigatou. I'm glad we can trust you."

"I can't believe you doubted me." With that she hung up and raced back to the house.

* * *

_Osaka, Japan

* * *

_

"You're just mad because I beat you," Kagome accused making a face at the sulking hanyou walking beside her. She held a carry out drink in one hand and sipped on the straw before mocking the smirk that usually graced his features. "Can't stand the idea that a _girl_ might be better than you at something?"

"You ain't better than me at anything. If you hadn't been talking so damn much and distracting me I'd've kicked your ass." He rolled his eyes in her direction and crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides, how do you know I didn't _let_ you win?"

She laughed and shrugged. "I know you didn't let me win because you're complaining to much about loosing. If you'd have lost on purpose it wouldn't have bothered you so much." She batted her eyes innocently and gave him a sweet smile. "It's not my fault that you suck at arcade games. Some people just don't have enough talent is all."

"Why you…wench!" He went to grab a fistful of hair and give it a tug, but missed. He'd never hit a girl, especially a weak ningen girl, so he'd been planning on admonishing her the next best way. She, however, had other plans and dodged, bounding off ahead of them with a challenging glance over her shoulder. "Oi wench! Get back here!" And with that exclamation he was off after her.

Of course they all knew that he could have easily caught up with her and extracted his revenge, but he wasn't really angry and her playfulness was at least a distraction from the situation they were really in. It had somehow started after the realization that she and he had been connected during their dark periods that he had begun to feel a little freer and had, in the past few days, made noticeable strides in his social behavior. He and Miroku were still on wary territory, speaking civilly, but not having become to close. Yet he was decently respectful and considerate when it came to Sango and almost friendly with Kagome now. Of course, he had known Kagome longer, having been her lab partner for several months, and found it easier to close the gap between himself and someone he was relatively familiar with than to become emotionally involved with someone he knew nothing of.

Sango shook her head. She and Miroku had been trailing behind the two as they argued and she rolled her eyes when they started chasing each other through the streets. "Hey you two! We're still back here you know!" She sighed and grabbed the sleeve of Miroku's shirt tugging him behind her as she started to jog, trying to keep in sight of her friends. "Come on."

"Right behind you as always, Sango-chan…and what a lovely behind it is…" He laughed when she jerked her hand away and shoved him forward. "You obviously feel the same way about me if you're so eager to enjoy the view."

She groaned. "Give it a rest, Miroku. Try concentrating on something else for once."

* * *

_Morocco

* * *

_

Sesshomaru came back into the main room wearing a more casual shirt and khakis. He'd tied his hair back with a leather thong and was just about to walk out the door when he remembered he'd neglected to give any tasks to the toad youkai. "Jaken, arrange to have the jet fly you back to Tokyo. Once there you will do as I instructed earlier. I will be taking Kagura to the cabin."

Jaken sighed and nodded. "Yes, sir." He wanted to be included in on the action. He could be of help too! Oh for mercy's sake, he was starting to sound like a whimpering child. But it was so unfair to be given such useless and mundane tasks when there was much more interesting things he could do.

But Sesshomaru had already gone and so any arguments he might have been able to make were left unsaid and unheard as his shoulders fell in defeat and he turned to the phone to start making calls. _I should have gone to acting school…_

* * *

Kagura met Sesshomaru at the door, the dress from earlier discarded and lying in a heap on the bed having been traded in for dark blue slacks and a light blue shirt. Though her hair was still pulled back in its tight little bun, the pieces that had framed her face had been pinned back for the flight back to Tokyo. Riding on feathers was a windy way to travel and the wind blown look did not suit her. Normally it wouldn't have mattered, but she _was_ traveling with Sesshomaru and despite the situation, she _did_ still think he was sexy and wanted to appear at her best during all times. 

"Thank you, Sesshomaru-san, for helping me," she said quietly as she closed the door behind her and followed him down the hall ways. "My sisters and I will be in your debt."

"I am not doing this as a favor to you. I simply believe it is time to retrieve the katana my disgrace of a brother stole."

* * *

Panting for breath after her run through the streets, Kagome came to a stop in front of the warehouse where they were to meet the pilot and looked behind her only to be tackled by a silver haired hanyou. "Oh, hello, Inuyasha." She feined innocence and started to turn to enter the building, but he blocked her path. "Can I help you?" 

"I ain't through with you yet. You ready to admit that you only won 'cause I let you?" He crossed his arms over his chest, looking down his nose at her, smirking.

She tapped her finger against her chin, looking thoughtful. "I would except that you didn't." She smiled sweetly and started to walk past him again only to find herself having been swept up into his arms and thrown over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Oi! Inu-kun, what do you think you're doing? Put me down!"

"Not 'till you admit it." He jostled her a bit. "Well?"

She crossed her arms over her chest as best she could, trying and failing to look evil. "Never."

Sango and Miroku were straggling behind, having chosen to walk back instead of chasing after their companions. "Did we miss something?" Sango questioned, quirking a brow at the current situation between hanyou and girl.

"I think so." Miroku chuckled. "Kagome?"

The dark haired girl tried to raise up and look over her captor's shoulder or around his arm to see her friends. "Help! He's gone insane!" She squealed. "If I'd known he was gonna be such a sore looser, I'd have let him win!" She squirmed again and tried to dislodge his hold on her. "Put me down."

He shook his head. "Nope." He shifted her again, gaining a yelp of protest from her and a squeal when he raised the cuff of her blue jeans a slight bit to tickle her skin with his claws. "How 'bout now?"

She tried to kick his hand away, but his other arm was holding her legs firmly to his chest. It wasn't her most ticklish spot, but still the light movements of long nails against her skin was discomforting. "Stop, Inu-kun! Please?" When he shook his head and persisted in his torture, she sighed and stopped struggling. "Oh, fine. Inuyasha, you're the best at everything, even better than me! How could I have ever thought that little, pathetic, ningen me could beat the great and powerful Inu-kun?"

He smiled triumphantly and set her on her feet with and crossed his arms again grinning smugly at her.

She straightened her shirt and flipped her hair out of her face and then glanced at her friends before turning her steel blue gaze back at her and smiled mischievously. "That's a good puppy." She turned the doorknob as she heard his growl behind her and darted inside, heading for the stairs that would lead to the roof.

Once more the chase was on as Inuyasha burst through the door, close behind, leaving Miroku and Sango in the dust again. "Oi wench!"

Sango sighed and shook her head. "And to think that Kagome called him arrogant and insensitive."

Miroku chuckled. "Let's not forget immature and rude." He held the door open for her and followed slightly behind while they climbed the stairs towards the roof. "Or that Kagome proclaimed only a month ago that she disliked him with a passion."

She giggled. "It certainly looks like a relationship between two people who hate each other." She crossed her arms over her chest, getting a bit of a thoughtful look which was quickly replaced with one of sheer anger. "If you touch me inappropriately once more today, you will not live to see tomorrow."

He sighed and then smiled charmingly, reaching out and taking her hand in his in a bold move. "Would this be considered inappropriately?" He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, reveling in the feel of her silky soft skin beneath his fingers. He had, of course, touched her arm on occasion when she would wear tank tops or short sleeved shirts, but he had never exactly held her hand or made anything of such an intimate nature.

She jerked at first and stopped, looking back at him. "Nan da?" She squeaked, shocked. "I…iie…It's not." She blushed deeply and bit her lip, looking away from him. "Ah…about Inuyasha and Kagome…they seem to have quickly become friends."

Miroku felt a triumphantly grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Hai, they have. I think, perhaps, that has something to do with their having both spent time at the retreat in similar conditions. They are certainly an interesting couple, ne?" He had started to walk again and moved ahead of her, tugging her hand to bring her up the stairs with him. "He does not seem as bad as Kagome painted him to be, certainly."

She nodded, grateful for a distraction from the warmth of his hand around hers or the still pink glow on her cheeks. She could now hear the beating of the helicopter's blades as they started to rotate and knew that Kagome and Inuyasha had found the pilot and were just waiting on them before heading back to the cabin.

When they got to the chopper they found a sulking Kagome and a victoriously smirking Inuyasha which led each to guess that Kagome had finally had to give in due to some form of torture at the hanyou's hands.

* * *

_Cabin in the Mountains

* * *

_

"You are positive that they were returning tonight?" Naraku questioned the red haired youkai who stood only a few feet away looking up at the darkening sky. Storm clouds had been rolling throughout the day and were finally upon them and would break any moment. It would be a wet night.

She looked over at him, seeming distracted. "I'm positive. Kagome didn't want to spend the money on a motel room and they'd already talked about coming back here. None of them really wanted to leave the 'safety' of the cabin." She pursed her mouth, tapping a finger to the ruby red lips. "You sure that this is the best place to ambush them? I mean, shouldn't we have Kagura and Kanna here too? There's four of them and only two of us."

He frowned, glaring a warning in her direction as he walked passed her and up the path towards the shrine of the Inutaishou. "Do not question my decisions, Varsha. Those four _children_ are no match for me."

Sure to her word, they soon heard the reverberation of the helicopter's blades passing above them as the pilot came to the landing area a short hike from the cabin itself. Varsha turned and sprinted to towards the woods where she could hide until the humans came into her sight. She would deal with the owner of the Hiraikotsu and the human boy while Naraku extracted his revenge on the little miko girl and the hanyou though she still knew not how the hanyou fit into the revenge equation, but it wasn't any of her care.

* * *

Kagome sighed as she stepped out of the helicopter, but she smiled when she looked over her shoulder and saw Miroku and Sango who were desperately trying to avoid each other now…or rather, Sango was trying to avoid Miroku. 

A shiver ran down her spine as an eerie feeling washed over her, ruining the good mood seeing Sango and Miroku holding hands had brought on. Something didn't feel right, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. While the others began to head towards the cabin, she hung back slightly, watching as the pilot lifted the helicopter into the air once more, just as the first claps of thunder rolled across the sky, and feeling as if she were watching her last life line leave them stranded.

"Kagome-chan?" They had all stopped and turned to look back at her, Sango frowning with concern. "Nani desu ka?"

The dark haired girl jumped at the sound of her friends voice, but covered it up with a laugh and rubbed her bare arms as chill bumps started to rise. "Oh! Gomen ne…I think the storm just has me a bit antsy is all."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Baka," he muttered with very little feeling. He too had a feeling of unease, like something wasn't right, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He couldn't catch the scent of anything out of the ordinary and he didn't see or hear anything. "If you don't get a move on, you're gonna get soaked."

No sooner than he had spoken, the bottom broke out of the sky and large drops of rain fell, soaking them all almost instantly while the sky lit with sparks of lightening. Kagome jumped again and jogged to where they were waiting for her and followed as Inuyasha grabbed her arm to keep her from tripping over a root and Miroku did the same for Sango, helping her to carry the oversized boomerang.

By the time they reached the cabin they were all dripping wet and uncomfortable. Finding that the lights didn't work failed to help their mood any. "Damn it, the lightening must've tripped a breaker." Inuyasha growled and slammed the door behind him. "You three get dried off. I'll go flip the breakers since they're out at the shrine house."

Before he could go out, however, Kagome peered at him from beneath her now flattened hair. "Inu-kun? What did you do with the katana?" She couldn't help the impending sense of danger that kept running through her body and she worried about the safety of their heirlooms.

"It's hidden in the shrine," he replied gruffly and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Naraku watched from the door of the shrine while Inuyasha grumbled to himself and stomped through the overgrowth to the breaker box, not realizing that the lights had not gone out of natural causes but had, in fact, been sabotaged. 

"Inuyasha."

The hanyou looked up, ears swiveling towards the sound and narrowed his golden gaze when he made out a figure in the shadows of the shrine house. Had it not been for the red eyes which caught the little light and caused them to glow with an eerie light, he would have not known who the unexpected visitor was. But those eyes and that sillouette he recognized from his time in Kagome's dreams. This was her nightmare, her tormenter, the red eyes.

"Naraku."

* * *

The headache started without warning. It was like a sudden pounding in the back of her head which caused her to double over with a groan of pain. Images flashed behind her lids and she struggled to grasp at least one of them. Sango crossed to her and tried to help her to a chair, asking what had happened. 

Distracted they didn't realize what was happening until the glass shattered under extremely strong winds.

Miroku jumped back and grabbed the girls, ushering them back away from the windows as a red dust started to drift in. "It's that dust we found in mine and Kagome's room at the retreat," Sango noted and grabbed Miroku's arm, leading Kagome towards their room. "Come with me!" She tugged them in and closed the door behind them as she dug through her bag. When she found what she was looking for she tossed a metal and cloth mask at Miroku and slipped another over Kagome's head just as the bedroom windows also exploded. She had to hurry and put her own on before the red dust could cling to her lungs.

* * *

"Bastard! What are you doing here? How did you find us!" Inuyasha demanded angrily coming towards him. "Not that it matters. I can kill you here just as well as anywhere else." 

Naraku shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, hanyou, there is no need for you or I to die. Simply hand over Tetsuseiga, Hiraikotsu and the Shikon Pearl and I may leave you in peace." A wicked smile graced his features and a dry chuckle was heard over the thunder. "Of course you will have to allow me my way with little Kagome…I have so missed the look of emptiness and utter terror in her eyes when she looked up on her father's form…I have dreamed of seeing that look again. Watching me kill her friends should do the job, don't you think, Inuyasha?"

Naraku had been backing up as he spoke and Inuyasha had been steadily coming closer until they were inside the shrine house. "Shut the fuck up! Sakon Tetsusou!" He swiped his claws in the direction of Naraku and growled when he missed his target.

* * *

_Focus, Kagome._ She closed her eyes and concentrated on the images that had flashed through her mind moments before. _Block out the sounds. Focus on the vision._

Inuyasha falling.

Inuyasha dying.

_No! Think past that. Don't focus on that. You'll stop it. Where is he?_

Trees. That was no help at all. The cabin was in the middle of the wilderness! Of course there were trees.

_What else?_

Wood. Dark wood. Stained wood. A door, bright red lacquer. Not the cabin. Inuyasha wasn't in the cabin of course. Where else was there?

"_You three get dried off. I'll go flip the breakers since they're out at the shrine house."_

But it was a ways off. She had to get there and quick. "I've got to find Inuyasha-kun!" She called out above the roar of the wind created with Varsha's Dance of the Dragon copied attacks.

"Okay!" Sango held up the recovered Hiraikotsu to block the wind from herself and Miroku. All three wore masks over their faces to protect them from the illusion dust. Despite the fierce winds and the red dust that littered the wood floor of the cabin it was painfully obvious that she was not doing her job to the best of her ability for whatever reason. They had discovered shortly after the windows busted out that the attacks themselves were harmless, but the debris thrown around by the wind was a definite danger. "Be careful. Her attacks may just be illusions, but Naraku's a real threat and I'm sure he's here."

"Hai!" She turned and ran out of the back of the cabin, hurrying towards the path that would lead her to the shrine. She only hoped that she was fast enough. At a fork in the path, she hesitated for a second...Had Inuyasha taken the left or the right? Veering to the left, she prayed to the kami that she had chosen the right one.

* * *

"Hand over the sword and the Hiraikotsu and I might have mercy on the girl." Naraku's voice was laced with venom as he faced off with Inuyasha. Thunder cracked over head and the storm raged on, full steam ahead. The rain made hard 'thunk' sounds as it hit the tiled roof of the Inutaishou Shrine. "I might even let you live." 

"Not a chance in hell, kisama," Inuyasha retorted. "I'm not giving you anything - not Tetsuseiga, not Hiraikotsu, and I damn sure ain't letting you near Kagome."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Naraku's smile was wicked. "Willing to die to protect her, are you? Such a waste over a ningen girl."

"Shut up and die already." As a pup she had brought light to his dark existence within his mind and in return he had promised to protect her. He did not take his promises lightly and he damn sure wasn't going to back down on it now.

* * *

Over one hill and into a line of trees. Kagome was beginning to have second thoughts about her choice in direction. Perhaps she should turn around and go to the other direction. _No, if I turn around now and still don't come to the shrine, Inuyasha will die. I can't let that happen._

Finally she could see the darkly stained wood and bright red door through the pouring sheets of rain that came down on her. She was drenched from head to toe, her dark hair plastered to her scalp and sticking to the sides of her face, but at least she was there. The miko gun was clutched tightly in her hands. If she aimed in the right place, she could kill him. She could destroy Naraku and they would never have to worry about him again. The door stood open, but there was no light in it. Even so, she could make out the outline of two forms, one she knew to be Inuyasha and the other one would have to be Naraku.

She stopped outside the door, looking in. She knew if she barged in it would distract Inuyasha and he would be caught off guard and then he might die because of her, but if she stayed out of the way maybe her vision wouldn't come true. However, she forgot about his super sense of smell and when he caught her scent, his head turned towards her just long enough to give Naraku the leverage he needed. The quasi hanyou reached out a hand and a dark tentacle looking thing shot from his shirt sleeve, just under his arm. Not thinking about the consequences, Kagome pounced, grabbing Inuyasha by the waist and pulled him towards the ground as she lost her balance and fell forward. She felt his body jerk and heard a grunt as the tentacle went through his flesh and then felt the warm blood seeping from his wound when they landed, her on top of him in an awkward position.

She had managed in her flight to kick the shrine door closed so that no light was able to come through and they were encased in darkness. Being a quasi hanyou, Naraku would have heightened senses, but if she maneuvered just right, she might be able to get close enough to him to shoot him with the miko gun.

"Ah, little Kagome." Naraku's dry voice came from her right and she moved as quietly as possible, standing up and backing around. Inuyasha was still breathing, thank kami, but he might not be for long if she couldn't take Naraku out. "You remember me? You remember the last time we saw each other?" He was baiting her and she knew it. She bit her lip to keep from making a noise. "This could have all been avoided, little one, if you had just allowed me to take the pearl that night. If you had given me what I wanted then your friends would live now."

_Don't let him do it, Kagome. He's just trying to make you give yourself up!_ She moved as quietly as possible, following his voice, holding the gun out in front of her, but he was moving too.

"Your friends will die tonight, little one, and it will all be your fault. You drug them into this when your otou refused to give me the pearl."

_No...it's not true, you know that. Miroku and Sango were safe when you saw them last. That woman wasn't really trying to kill them..._ Her foot slipped in something and she realized it was blood that had started to pool on the floor around the hanyou. _Inuyasha..._

"Inuyasha will die whether you kill me or not. My poison flows in his veins now. Nothing will be able to stop it." His laugh was sinister and quiet. "Varsha will do as I command her. Her life depends on it and the need for self preservation causes people to do things that they never thought they would."

Inuyasha made a small moan of pain, just barely more than a whimper. Her shoe would be stained now for good with his blood and the idea made her stomach flip and give her the feeling that she would be sick. Against her will a whimper of her own escaped her lips.

That's when she felt it.

Claws grazed her arm, slicing through her top and into the tender flesh of her bicep. She cried out and swung her pistol around, shooting three times at her attacker. A masculine grunt was produced as each shot hit home and as her attacker fell backwards, he grabbed for her neck, pulling at the chain that held the Shikon Pearl. Lightening flashed through the sky and she could see that she had hit Naraku, but somehow he had managed to catch his balance and was still moving, trying to escape through the door. She had just enough time to see Inuyasha grab him around the legs and draw him down to the ground before the light disappeared and the shrine house was engulfed in darkness once more.

There was scuffling where the two had hit the floor and she heard a thump and then Inuyasha moan in pain. _Oh, Kami! There's no way that Inuyasha can fight him and I can't shoot because I might miss and hit Inu-kun!_

The door to the shrine was thrown open and she could see the silhouette of Naraku as he worked to escape. "Naraku! Bukkoroshite yan zo!" She leveled the pistol and shot again and again and again until she ran out of ammunition. The quasi hanyou fell and lay still, the pearl having flown out of his hands and landing on the ground a few feet from him. "Shi'ne."

She dropped to the floor of the cabin and crawled to Inuyasha, cradling his head in her lap and using her sweater to stop the bleeding. He grunted, but didn't open his eyes. "That...hurts..."

A wave of relief washed over her. "Would you rather I let you bleed to death?"

The faint traces of a smirk tugged at his features. "Would...it bother...you?"

"Slightly. It'd be a bit of an inconvenience."

"Naraku...what...did he get away?"

She shook her head when his golden eyes opened to look at her. "Iie. He's dead."

He nodded stiffly. "...Tired...just gonna...nap...bit..."

His eyes fluttered shut and she stiffened, fear taking over again. "You're not allowed to die, wakarimasu ka, Inu-kun? I still don't understand half of what we're doing in Chem. Lab. You can't die till I at least pass finals."

He grinned slightly. "Wouldn't...con...consider it."

"Kagome-chan!" Sango raced into the room, leaping over the fallen body of Naraku. Miroku was just behind her, but bent to pick up something. Behind him she could see Varsha walking slowly after them. Miroku stepped over the quasi hanyou's body and knelt beside Kagome while Sango hugged her tightly. "Kagome-chan! Your bleeding!" Her arm was grabbed and she was inspected for any other injuries.

"I think this belongs to you, Kagome." Miroku cleaned the blood from the pearl which was now glowing a bluish purple color and handed it to Kagome who clinched it in her fist. "What happened?"

"Sango, can you call the emergency and have them send a helicopter for Inuyasha, onegai? Naraku stabbed him and said that he injected him with some sort of poison." Kagome's eyes moved passed Miroku to rest on Varsha who was standing over Naraku's unmoving form, looking amazed. "Is she...she's not gonna attack us or anything, ne?"

"Iie," Miroku assured her. "As soon as she felt that Naraku was dead she stopped her attacks and told us to find you."

"Good." Kagome sighed, feeling tired. The pain from her arm had finally reached her, making her wince. "I had a vision of Inuyasha being killed and I came to stop it, but he ended up getting hurt anyway when. But I think I threw off Naraku's aim when I pulled him down so that he only hit him in the shoulder. I ended up getting scratched when Naraku grabbed for the pearl."

"Varsha!" Hearing her name yelled out, the red haired youkai turned quickly to find a dark haired woman running towards her. "What happened?" The two embraced and the dark haired woman looked down at the body of their former 'master'.

Varsha, still stunned, lightly hugged her back. "Can't you tell? Don't you feel it?" She touched her own chest, feeling the heart that beat there with a steady rhythm. "We're free!"

Sesshomaru appeared in the doorway behind the two celebrating sisters, his cell phone already to his ear as he called the hospital and the medi-vac chopper to come and pick up the hanyou and miko. His own private chopper would carry the rest of them.

* * *

Reviewer Comments: 

Yashafan1 - are you off those pins and needles yet? I hope this chapter has made you happy.

Dark Daimon Fate - Thanks for the advise. I loved the literature part of English classes, but I kinda zoned out with the rest of it.

WEIRDkittyzwings - Thanks! I'm glad that people think that I'm keeping the characters in character. That's important to me because Rumiko Takahashi is a wonderful writer and her characters are so good already that I couldn't do anything to improve on them.

Ammeirs - Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you liked it.

CowGirlUSA - Yeah, I don't understand why the romance/mystery/action/adventure stories aren't more popular. I love them. I really like the Iris Johansen boosk (which is why I based this story off of a plot for her _Final Target_ book.).

* * *

Glossary: 

-chan - suffix added to emphasize a close friendship or addressing someone  
Konnichiwa - Hello  
Katana - sword  
Arigatou - Thanks  
Nani desu ka? - What is it?  
Hai - yes  
Hanyou - half youkai/half human  
Oi - hey  
Youkai - daemon  
-kun - a polite, friendly term, often used between peers and among friends  
Nan da - What  
Baka - fool/idiot/stupid  
Kisama - you bitch/bastard  
Ningen - human  
Miko - priestess  
Otou - Father  
Kami - god  
Bukkoroshite yan zo - I'm going to kill you  
Shi'ne - Die (a very rude, crude form)  
Iie - no  
Wakarimasu ka - Do you understand  
Onegai - please  
Ne - a question ender like "right" or "no" or "huh"


	14. Epilogue

A/N: Everyone wanted an epilogue, so I decided to comply. I guess it did end a little quickly, huh? Besides, Cutie Pie Hentai gave me several good ideas to work with and I loved them all…

Italics indicates flashbacks and thoughts. Most of the beginning will be flashbacks. Non italicized text within in a flashback will indicate thought although it will sometimes indicate a stressed word or phrase. Confused yet?

* * *

Reviewer Comments:

Fire - I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Yashafan1 - Eh! I didn't mean to send anyone through withdrawal! Gomen ne! Yes, Naraku's dead. I absolutely _hate_ those horror/mystery movies where you think you've killed the bad guy and then as soon as you've let down your guard -**_boom_**- he's back! Mostly 'cause they scare the crap out of me when he/she shows up out of nowhere. So, yeah, Naraku's good and dead. He _was_ shot like seven times with her spiritual powers. If you really are interested in some of my other stories, I have several. Mostly one shots, but there's two other chapter stories. They're all on my profile page.

Cutie Pie Hentai - Thank you for the ideas. I liked all of them so well that I used most of them.

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

* * *

In a way, she was glad that she had chosen to go with a Western styled wedding. The dress styles were so much more to choose from and she got to have bridesmaids and ushers…while a traditional wedding also had its perks, the Western styled ones were much more to her liking.

Very much to her liking, she decided as she turned her head to look up at the silver haired man beside her and smiled softly.

* * *

_Rainbow Valley Retreat_

* * *

_The limo rolled slowly over the gravel driveway to the front of the retreat. Inside, lounging on the comfy leather interior, four youkai sat in utter silence. The red haired mind youkai shifted, slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of returning to the place where she had broken into and caused unrest to one of the occupants even though her sisters insisted that it was only because of Naraku and that all had been forgiven. Kanna was quiet, as usual, but relaxed as she skimmed through the contents of her history book. Starting school hadn't been such a tough task after all, she was glad to discover, and she had caught up to the other kids her age very quickly. Kagura, the wind youkai, was simply enjoying her newfound freedom and the hand that wrapped around hers which belonged to a very handsome inu youkai, the very reason the four of them had returned to Rainbow Valley Retreat._

_As they came to a stop, all four stared at the door, which was quickly opened by the little toad youkai, still grumbling about the unseemly behavior being displayed by his boss. The quartet was greeted by an older woman with long graying hair and a little human child, dressed in her Sunday best, who stood waiting for them on the front porch of the retreat. There was a small suitcase to the side by the door and the child stood on the toes of her shoes in excitement. _

_Sesshomaru exited first and then Kagura, followed by Kanna and finally Varsha. As soon as she spotted the inu youkai, the little girl bound forward and latched onto his leg, smiling up at him with a gap tooth smile, her front top tooth recently missing. She tugged on the sleeve of his jacket until he had to bend down to her level and then leaned into his shoulder, her mouth by his ear._

"_Will Rin really be staying with Takahashi-san now?" She whispered quietly. When he nodded, she squealed in delight. "May Rin call Takahashi-san as Sesshomaru-san since Rin will be living with him?" When he nodded again, she squealed louder. _

"_However, Rin must speak aloud if she is to stay with this Sesshomaru." He turned his passive look to her and watched her eyes widen before she finally nodded in submission. He stood again and pointed her towards Kanna and the others. "This Kanna and her sisters, Kagura and Varsha. Kanna will be your playmate."_

_Rin smiled broadly and rushed over to the albino youkai's side, gripping the taller girl's arm and tugged her down to her level. She would eventually begin to speak as Sesshomaru wanted her to, it was, after all, part of their deal. He would allow her to stay with him and care for her, but she would have to speak and she would have to speak. "Rin is glad to meet you. Rin and Kanna will have lots of fun together, ne?"_

_Kanna grinned. "Hai, we will."_

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

* * *

Kagome bit her lip watched the preacher in anticipation, her eyes straying to Inuyasha every once in a while. He looked so handsome and sexy in a tuxedo and so sophisticated as she stood solemnly at the alter.

Inuyasha stifled a yawn. This wedding shit was majorly boring and he wondered when they'd get to the good part - the reception and the food. The preacher continued to drone on about love and commitment and a bunch of other crap that he had no interest in at the moment as his stomach growled. He really should have eaten before the ceremony.

* * *

_Osaka General Hosptial  
Osaka, Japan_

* * *

"_Oi sleepyhead, wake up already." She slid her hands along the rough stone of the cavern walls as she walked through the twisted paths to the belly of the cave. "Ugh, this is where you stayed for _how _many years? Geez, Inuyasha, you couldn't have a little light in here?"_

"_I did have light - for a little while." His growl echoed through out the pathways and caverns, making pinpointing his location difficult, but she didn't worry because she knew that somehow she would wind up in his cavern. "What the hell are you doing here?"_

_She made a face at the vast blackness in front of her. "You wouldn't come to me so I came to you. It's not like it was difficult or anything." She could _feel_ him roll his eyes. It was strange to feel his every movement and every feeling. Had he been able to feel those things when he was in her forest? "So, what happened to your light? Why was it only for a little while and where is it now?" For a long moment she received no answer and she sighed, deciding he had chosen to ignore her. There were just some things he was not ready to share. "Okay, so answer this, what are you doing back here!"_

"_Hell if I know! You think I wanna be here? Look at this place. It's dull." She found herself in a small cavern with only a sliver of light coming from a small hole in the top. Within that sliver of light sat a hunched over figure with silver hair. "I'd rather be in class."_

"_Now if you could only think like that more often, your teachers would be impressed." She crossed her arms over her chest, smirking slightly when she realized she'd surprised him by sneaking up on him. "So, if you don't wanna be here then why don't you leave? I've been waiting for you to wake up, baka, and that hospital room's starting to get really boring."_

_He looked up and narrowed his eyes. "So go home. It ain't like I _need _you to stay there or nothing." He looked away from her. "It was dark after you left before, but I got used to it. The dark ain't so bad."_

_She frowned, confused at his muttered comment. "What do you mean, Inuyasha? Would it get dark if I left now?"_

_He shrugged. "Yeah, so?"_

_For once she was glad for the darkness surrounding her as a deep blush spread across her cheeks. _She_ was his light, the idea seeped into her mind and she felt her stomach flutter slightly. "Well, you don't have to worry about it because you're coming out with me. You should be glad I remember the way out of this place." Before he could protest she grinned and grabbed his wrist, dragging him to a standing position and drug him behind her down the winding corridors._

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

* * *

Sango sighed happily as she sat forward in her pew, watching the wedding couple repeat their vows. Her sigh became a giggle when she saw Kanna and Rin shifting uneasily in their long dresses and hair bows. The children were obviously anxious to get this part over with so that they could go play. When a hand touched her arm, she jumped, but relaxed when she saw that it was only Miroku.

"Is this the sort of wedding you desire?" He whispered in her ear causing her to blush deeply. Their marriage was a ways off yet as they still had to get through graduation.

* * *

_Tokyo University  
Tokyo, Japan_

* * *

_She gasped when something landed on the book in front of her, shocking her out of her concentration. Taking her focus from the text, she saw that the object was a single, long stemmed, red rose. _

"_Even the beauty of a rose dims when compared to you, Sango-chan." Miroku grinned when she turned her brown eyes up at him and came to sit beside her at the library table. "Please forgive my interruption."_

_She shook her head, but could not help the smile that graced her features as she took the rose from her book and held it to her nose, inhaling its beautiful fragrance. "I couldn't concentrate anyway."_

"_You know that the grand opening for the new display at Tokyo's National Museum is on Friday, ne?" He questioned. "It will be the last time the four heirlooms will be shown in public for a very long time before they are taken private settings." She nodded and gave him a curious look, obviously wondering what that had to do with them. "I was hoping that you might attend the opening with me? After I've treated you to dinner, of course. I promise that I will be on my best behavior. My hands will not wander and my eyes will not stray."_

_She closed her book and pushed it aside before lightly batting his nose with the rose bud. "I'm holding you to that. Walk me to the dorm."_

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

* * *

The couple finished their vows and the exchange of rings and the preacher turned them towards the guests. "I now pronounce you husband and wife," he announced in a booming voice. "I give to you Takahashi Sesshomaru and Takahashi Kagura."

Whoops and cheers came from the gathered crowd as little bells were rung by each individual and Kanna and Rin threw rose petals at the couple. All Inuyasha could think at that moment was to thank the kami that it was finished.

_Food._

Kagome glanced over at him from her spot in the crowd and frowned slightly. _If he thinks he's going to bury himself in that buffet instead of dancing with me, he's lost his mind._

Inuyasha caught her look and gulped knowing his fate was sealed. So much for the buffet…

* * *

_Fin_

* * *

A/N: giggles I feel wicked, oh so wicked...hehehe...reading back over it, I realized that you really don't know _who_ is getting married till the end. It could've been Sesshomaru and Kagura (which it was) or it could have been Inuyasha and Kagome. 


	15. Sequel Info

Update: 01/05/2005

* * *

Okay, first note: I'm changing the name of this fic from _Safety Net_ to _The Spider's Web_ because I never really did like the original title, I just couldn't come up with another one till now.

Second note: I created a sequel! Yay! As with all of my stories, of course, don't expect frequent updates. I couldn't figure out a good way to bring Shippou in during the first book - as it was, I pretty much half assed Rin's part. But now I know how. Plus it's a political thriller - doesn't that always make it better? Anyway, here's the information.

* * *

_The Roll of Thunder_

Thriller sequel to _The Spider's Web_. With the discovery and demise of her father's murderer, Higarashi Kagome thought that her life was going to finally be normal. She had an almost perfect boyfriend, loyal friends and a successful career waiting in the wings. But one phone call is about to change all that. Will she risk what she's gained to save the life of one little boy?

Tanaka Seiya was at the forefront of the youkai political scene, but when he and his wife are assassinated in what was made to look like the beginning of a human upheaval, the delicate balance forged between human and youkai begins to waver. Only their son can put an end to the political revolution but without the help of Kagome and her friends he may not survive long enough to make a difference.


End file.
